DFA Designates an All-Career Lineup of Undersecretaries
PASAY CITY 28 July 2022 — The Department of Foreign Affairs is pleased to announce that Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo has designated the following officials as Acting Undersecretaries:
- Acting Undersecretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs
Acting Undersecretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro has had a remarkable career in the Foreign Service that has largely focused on crafting Philippine foreign policy, having served multiple times at the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs, including as its Assistant Secretary.
Undersecretary Lazaro served as Ambassador to Paris and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO—her most recent foreign posting—as well as Ambassador to Switzerland, Consul General to Sydney, and Deputy Consul General to New York. She also served at the Philippine Embassy in Madrid, the Philippine Mission to the UN in Geneva, and the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok.
She has a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Maryknoll College and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines.
- Acting Undersecretary Antonio A. Morales, Administration
Acting Undersecretary Antonio A. Morales has served as Philippine Ambassador to Singapore and Consul General to Milan and Hong Kong. He was earlier assigned to Ankara, Rome, Kuala Lumpur, San Francisco, and Beijing. He is a UP Business Economics and Law graduate, with a Master’s in International Relations from the Escuela Diplomatica in Madrid and Specialization in Multilateral Studies at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva Switzerland.
While at the Home Office, Undersecretary Morales served at the Human Resources Management Office, the Office of Undersecretary for Special and Ocean Concerns, the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy and the Office of European Affairs.
He has been Acting Undersecretary for Administration since early 2021.
- Acting Undersecretary Carlos D. Sorreta, Multilateral Affairs and International Economic Relations
Acting Undersecretary Carlos D. Sorreta was Philippine Ambassador to Russia and previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative at the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Philippine Embassy in Washington. Undersecretary Sorreta’s experience in the Home Office includes serving as Special Assistant for Policy to various Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, and as Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was Assistant Secretary for American Affairs, Director General of the Foreign Service Institute and Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs. He is a recipient of the Presidential Order of Mabini, with the rank of Dakilang Kasugo.
Undersecretary Sorreta is a graduate of the UP College of Law and a member of the Philippine Bar. He has also undertaken specialized graduate studies in New York, Washington DC, Honolulu, Singapore and Malaysia. He is the editor of a book on Philippine-US relations.
- Acting Undersecretary Jesus “Gary” S. Domingo, Civilian Security and Consular Affairs
Acting Undersecretary Domingo last served as Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand, with concurrent accreditation to the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Pacific Island Forum. At the Home Office, he served as the DFA's Assistant Secretary for UN Affairs and other International Organizations.
While serving at the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York and Geneva, he represented the Philippines in the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly, Conference on Disarmament (CD), and UN Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Humanitarian Conventions, among others. He had also served as Assistance to Nationals (ATN) head at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Undersecretary Domingo holds an MA in Philippine External Relations, Masters in National Security Administration and a PhD in Criminology. He also has a BSFS from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and an LLM in International Law of Armed Conflict from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. He is a reservist with the Philippine Marine Corps and Coast Guard Auxiliary. Domingo also founded the Diplomatic League, the DFA’s Youth Engagement Platform.
- Acting Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega, Migrant Workers Affairs
Acting Undersecretary de Vega was Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the European Union from 2018 to 2022, and Ambassador to Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba and Dominican Republic from 2016 to 2018. He was also previously assigned to New York, Barcelona, Washington D.C., and Tel Aviv. At the Home Office, Undersecretary de Vega previously served as Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs.
Undersecretary de Vega speaks fluent Spanish and French and has a good working knowledge of Italian, Catalan and Portuguese. He holds a Master in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines, a Post Graduate Studies in International Relations from Escuela Diplomática de Madrid, and an AB Political Science and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
The all-career lineup of senior management at the DFA demonstrates the Department’s commitment to providing professional advice to the President as the Chief Architect of Foreign Policy. END