Romulo to pass DFA baton to Del Rosario

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo on Tuesday confirmed to reporters that he is relinquishing his post, and that former ambassador to the United States Albert del Rosario will take over the position on Wednesday. Romulo on Friday took an indefinite leave of absence from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and designated Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio as acting DFA chief. (See: Romulo takes leave pending naming of replacement) Romulo confirmed that the turnover rites are scheduled Wednesday at 6 p.m., although reliable sources said the outgoing Foreign Affairs chief will also host a lunch Wednesday, where senior DFA officials will brief the incoming secretary. Del Rosario, a businessman who is counted among the close advisers of President Benigno Aquino III, served as Philippine ambassador to Washington from Oct. 13, 2001 to July 8, 2006, under then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He resigned in 2006, reportedly due to policy differences with Arroyo, exactly a year after 10 officials quit their Cabinet posts and called on Mrs. Arroyo to resign in the aftermath of the “Hello Garci" scandal. Del Rosario figured in a minor controversy in 2009 when he denied the claim of Alfonso Yuchengco — another diplomat and business tycoon like him — that Del Rosario was among the group that intimidated Yuchengco into selling his Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. shares in 1998. (See: Yuchengco's claim 'fictional,' ex-ambassador says) Romulo is reportedly interested in another government post, particularly chief of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York that Yuchengco also held during Mrs. Arroyo’s presidency.—JV/VS, GMA News