SFA Locsin Sends Off UNFPA Representative

During the virtual farewell call: (from screen to right) Mr. Iori Kato (UNFPA), Special Assistant to the SFA Ms. Therese Cantada (DFA-OSEC), Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Noralyn Jubaira Baja (DFA-UNIO), Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., and Undersecretary Brigido Dulay (DFA-OUCSCC).

Also present in the virtual call were Director Emma Sarne (DFA-UNIO) and Desk Assistant Wendell Gaa (DFA-UNIO)

PASAY CITY 11 August 2020 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., during the virtual farewell call of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Programme Representative Mr. Iori Kato today, conveyed the appreciation of the Philippines for the contribution of UNFPA under the leadership of Mr. Kato particularly in promoting the right of Filipinos to accessible reproductive health information and services, including family planning and prevention of gender-based violence, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secretary Locsin reassured Mr. Kato of the continued commitment of the Philippine government to strengthen its partnership and cooperation with UNFPA especially in these unprecedented times, and looks forward to the potential collaboration in Mr. Kato’s new role as Senior Regional Adviser for Asia of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In the two years that Mr. Kato was stationed in the Philippines, he led the implementation of UNFPA’s 8th Country Programme for 2019-2023, in partnership with relevant government agencies and civil society organizations, and has spearheaded various initiatives in the country.

The year 2019 marked the 25th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), a critical document that grounds the work of the UNFPA, the 50th Anniversary of UNFPA and the Philippines’ Commission on Population and Development (PopCom), as well as the formation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), one of the key project sites of UNFPA Philippines. In 2020, a series of crises put to test the responsiveness of the UNFPA Philippines programs in the country from the eruption of the Taal Volcano in January 2020 to the unfolding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Kato will be seconded to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva as Senior Regional Adviser for Asia, Office of the Director General. Prior to the Philippines, he was stationed in UNFPA Bangladesh as Representative a.i. from December 2016 to January 2018, where he managed multiple humanitarian responses.

Joining Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin in the farewell call of Mr. Kato (UNFPA) were Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Brigido Dulay, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for United Nations Other International Organizations (UNIO) Noralyn Jubaira Baja, Director for UNIO-Socio Cultural Division Emma Sarne , Special Assistant to the SFA Ms. Therese Cantada, and UNIO Desk Assistant Wendell Gaa. END