03 August 2016 - Officials from different agencies of the Government of Papua New Guinea, including Member of Parliament and Minister of Finance James Marape, Secretary of Foreign Affairs William Dihm, Customs Chief Commissioner Ray Paul, and other senior officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs paid tribute to outgoing Philippine Ambassador Bienvenido V. Tejano in a simple ceremony held over lunch in Port Moresby on July 11.

French Ambassador and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Pascal Maubert, New Zealand High Commissioner Tony Fautua, and Philippine Third Secretary and Vice Consul Shiena Escoto-Tesorero attended the event.

Ambassador Tejano, who served as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Papua New Guinea for about a year, formally turned over the deanship to Ambassador Maubert.

In a touching message, Minister of Finance Marape commended the dedicated service of Ambassador Tejano to the Philippines and his worthwhile contributions to Papua New Guinea. According to him, the people to people, business to business, institution to institution, and government to government relationships between Papua New Guinea and the Philippines grew stronger during the Ambassador’s term.

 “The good relationship and strong friendship we established in New Zealand and maintained up to the present made the working relationship between the Department of Foreign Affairs of Papua New Guinea and the Embassy of the Philippines smooth and well,” said Secretary of Foreign Affairs Dihm as he recalled fond the time when both he and Ambassador Tejano were served as Heads of Mission in New Zealand.

In his short message, Ambassador Maubert underscored the importance of establishing good interpersonal relationships in diplomacy.  This was “something that Ambassador Tejano as the Philippine Ambassador and outgoing Dean of the Diplomatic Corps exemplified during his tenure,” Ambassador Maubert said.

Ambassador Tejano thanked the Government of Papua New Guinea and Prime Minister Peter O’ Neill for supporting him and the Philippine Embassy.   He expressed his deep appreciation to the Government of Papua New Guinea for supporting the Philippines following the devastating onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan.

Noting the strong relationship between the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, Ambassador Tejano shared that there are now nine flights per week between Port Moresby and Manila, and more Papua New Guineans choose to go to the Philippines for medical services, education, and tourism. He also cited the increasing number of Filipino professionals, managers, and technical workers in Papua New Guinea and their significant contributions to the economies of both the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

Ambassador Tejano expressed his hopes for the continued advancement of the relationship between Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. He said that he is fulfilled at the end of his term, emphasizing that his diplomatic stint in Papua New Guinea not only enriched his career in the Foreign Service but also his personal life. END