Ateneo de Manila University's Citation of Ambassador Albert del Rosario
Albert F del Rosario
Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa
It is said that a nation has four elements: its people, territory, government, and sovereignty. Albert F Del Rosario has defended and promoted all of these that constitute what we are as a country. He took care of Filipinos in the diaspora, defended our territory and sovereignty with passion and discipline, and he worked consistently for a better and more dynamic government bureaucracy.
As Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Albert del Rosario pursued a foreign policy that was truly independent, principled and based on the rule of law, and relentlessly promoted and defended the national interest of the Philippines in the global arena.
Protecting diaspora Filipinos
His dedication to the protection and welfare of Filipinos in all parts of the world was legendary. Hours after being sworn to office, he traveled to Tripoli, Libya to remove some 400 overseas Filipinos from the war-torn city and bring them to the Libyan-Tunisian border. This was not the only time he took personal risks to save Filipino lives. He was to lead more repatriations of Filipinos in the Middle East—Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt, in particular— throughout his stint in the department. During his term, over 24,000 Filipinos were repatriated from these countries which were torn by civil strife, devastated by natural and other disasters, and struck by pandemics.
Throughout his tenure in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Sec del Rosario always prioritized the needs of our diaspora, traveling up to the last minute to get them to safety and protect their interests. From 2011 to 2015, the department extended assistance to over 80,000 overseas Filipinos and members of their families.
A commitment to good government
Sec del Rosario was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs in 2011 by President Benigno S Aquino III. This followed an earlier stint in government, when from 2001–2006, he was the Philippine ambassador to the United States. In that earlier post, Sec del Rosario was known for his work ethic and focus.
As ambassador, Del Rosario was instrumental in securing $1.2 billion US funding assistance for the Philippines, realizing investments in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, and acquiring greater access to the US market for Philippine exports.
He led the formation of the Philippines-US Friendship Caucus, composed of over 80 legislators from the US House of Representative. He also led the successful launch of a challenge to the decision of the California Public Employees Retirement System (calPERS) to remove the Philippines from its list of approved investment locations. He successfully lobbied before the US Congress not to prejudice the Philippine canned tuna industry as a result of a preferential treatment for Andean countries, and undertook efforts to realize major benefits for Filipino and Filipino-American veterans.
Disagreements with the Arroyo administration led to Sec del Rosario’s early departure from Washington DC. A consistent advocate of good governance, Ambassador del Rosario joined the Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO), a group critical of the Arroyo administration.
Prior to his work in government, Del Rosario was an accomplished corporate executive whose business career included work in various industries: insurance, banking, real estate, shipping, telecommunications, consumer products, retail, pharmaceutical, and food.
It was therefore no surprise that Sec del Rosario underscored the economic role of the foreign affairs department and revitalized it through an aggressive promotion of Philippine trade, investments, tourism, and official development assistance (ODA), in cooperation with its partner agencies. During his time, more than 205 economic agreements were signed, covering labor, trade, education, tourism, and air services from 2010–2016.
Within the department itself, Sec del Rosario implemented reforms that strengthened our diplomacy by boosting the morale of the career service corps, increasing their competencies through further training, and reinstituting the merit system, among others. He also emphasized the management approach of leadership by example, rationalized Philippine presence overseas and reallocating resources where these were most needed, strongly encouraged all foreign service personnel to reach beyond their grasp, at all times, to promote the national interest, and brought cost-effective consular services closer to the people by moving DFA offices to larger malls.
Sec del Rosario embarked on 151 official missions over the course of five years to advance the three foreign policy pillars of the Philippines: national security, economic diplomacy, and protection and promotion of the welfare of Filipinos abroad.
Defending territory, upholding sovereignty
Under President Aquino’s directive, Sec del Rosario made the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea issue a foreign policy priority, intensifying an advocacy for the primacy of the rule of law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Closely working with key agencies, he championed arbitration as an open, friendly, and transparent mechanism in resolving the maritime dispute, negotiated with allies for the Philippine Defense Modernization Program, and consulted with foreign counterparts on policy and operational issues. Under his leadership, the Philippines won a big victory in the arbitration case it filed against China. That arbitral award supported our position in the West Philippine Sea and soundly rejected the claims of China.
Sec del Rosario has been a tireless voice in drawing attention to China’s assertiveness within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as in other international fora. He worked towards strengthening US-Philippine alliance with the signing of the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement in 2014, which is vital in the face of a variety of threats, including China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea. The agreement includes the construction of facilities and the prepositioning of defense equipment.
If, in the end, we will triumph against attempts to undermine our territory and sovereignty, it is because Sec del Rosario, with other like-minded Filipinos, stood their ground and drew sharp lines in the seas. Future generations will benefit from their vision and courage.
A true patriot
Recognizing his brilliance as a diplomat, his love for all Filipinos and especially those in our diaspora, a strong commitment to good and effective governance, personal discipline and an incredible work ethic, his devotion to wife Gretchen and his sons, daughters, and grandchildren, and for patriotism beyond the call of duty, the Ateneo de Manila proudly confers on Albert F Del Rosario the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities.
