Ambassador Rodolfo C Severino Jr Endowment Fund Lecture: Directions and Challenges of the Marcos, Jr. Administration's Foreign Policy

One of the main tasks of the Marcos Jr. Administration is to structure and decide Philippine foreign policy directions and prioritize accompanying initiatives for the next six years. Issues, such as the West Philippine Sea and Philippine relations with the US and China will impact on the Philippines’ national security, migration policy and trade: in responding to these issues, will the current administration continue or change the country’s diplomatic strategy?

Ateneo de Manila University’s Department of Political Science cordially invites you to the Ambassador Rodolfo Severino Endowment Lecture Series Talks on the Directions and Challenges of  the Marcos, Jr. Administration’s Foreign Policy. The lecture will be held in the Auditorium, Basement 1, APS Rockwell on 13 October 2022, Thursday from 03:00 PM to 04:30 PM (invite only), and will be streamed live via YouTube.

We are honored to have Hon. Enrique A. Manalo, career diplomat and newly appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs to give the keynote address for  this year’s Rodolfo Severino Lecture. 

The distinguished faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University, Dr. Carmel V. Abao and Dr. Jennifer S. Oreta of the Department of Political Science, and Dr. Fernando T. Aldaba of the Department of Economics will provide contributions in migration policy, security sector reform and economic development as discussants to the lecture.

About the keynote speaker:

Seasoned career diplomat Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo took his oath of office before President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on 01 July 2022 as the new Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

President Marcos appointed Secretary Manalo in view of his long and distinguished career in the Philippine Foreign Service and his vast experience in diplomacy. President Marcos said he preferred a career diplomat at the helm of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for the Philippines to effectively advance its interests in the international stage in the face of formidable challenges.

During his more than four decades of service in the DFA, Secretary Manalo was appointed as Undersecretary for Policy twice. In this capacity, he was the principal adviser to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs in matters involving the country’s relations with the international community. As Undersecretary for Policy, Secretary Manalo also served as the Philippines’ Senior Official in the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting, which is the working level mechanism for ASEAN policy formulation and priority-setting.

Secretary Manalo is an expert in multilateral diplomacy, having served as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York immediately prior to being appointed as Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He was also the Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva.

He has held other notable positions, including Acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Belgium, Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, Minister Counselor and Deputy Permanent Representative in the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, and First Secretary and Consul at the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC.

Secretary Manalo holds a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. In recognition of his exceptional service to the country, he was awarded the Order of Lakandula with rank of Grand Cross (Bayani) in 2018, the Gawad Mabini with rank of Grand Cross (Dakilang Kamanong) in 2017, and the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Grand Cross (Datu) in 2010.