Ambassador Tomas Delos Reyes Padilla, 86

01 February 2019 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announces with deep sorrow the demise of Ambassador Tomas delos Reyes Padilla today at the age of 86.

Ambassador Padilla’s career spanned five administrations—from then President Carlos Garcia to former President Fidel Ramos. The son of former Supreme Court Justice Sabino Padilla and nephew of former Senator Ambrosio Padilla, Ambassador Padilla topped the Foreign Service Officers examinations of 1956 and entered the Department a year later.

Ambassador Padilla served as Philippine ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 1986 to 1990. He was also posted in Kobe, Peking, Madrid, Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Berne. At the Home Office, Ambassador Padilla served in various capacities at the Office of Personnel and Administrative Services, Office of Policy Planning and Coordination, Office of Consular Affairs, and the Office of Political and Cultural Affairs. He capped his diplomatic career as Undersecretary for Administration, a position he held until his retirement in 1997.

Upon winding down his tour of duty in Seoul in 1990, then opposition leader and later Korean President Kim Dae Jung wrote former President Corazon Aquino about Ambassador Padilla and said: “I have come to know many ambassadors serving in Korea. I am sure, however, that few can match Ambassador Padilla in terms of the devotion to duty and actual contribution to reinforcing the friendly relations between Korea and the country he represents.”

Born on 25 April 1932 in Manila, Ambassador Padilla had a master’s degree in International Relations from Yale University and bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Foreign Service from the University of the Philippines. END