A RESOLUTION has been filed at the Senate honoring the memory of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and his work that gave the Philippines its “landmark victory” against China on the issue of the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Del Rosario passed away on Tuesday at the age of 83 en route to the United States. He served as the DFA secretary of the late president Benigno Aquino III from February 2011 to March 2016, when he resigned due to health reasons.
Senate Resolution No. 572, filed by Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, feted Del Rosario as a “public servant of untarnished integrity and moral certitude,” aside from being a “tenacious and wise diplomat” who never compromised his principles.
“Del Rosario will be remembered most for being at the helm of the Philippine victory in the Hague, where the 2016 Arbitral Award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration reaffirmed our legitimate rights in the West Philippine Sea and asserted baseline principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS),” the resolution stated.
It said the late secretary was also known for defending the national interest, be it involving distressed overseas Filipino workers in other countries or the country’s security interests vis a vis foreign aggression.
“Del Rosario’s legacy will live on, not only in his body of work, but in our continued commitment as a people to stand up to aggressors and to defend our sovereignty,” she added.
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople said Del Rosario was one of her role models, noting how compassion for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In a statement, Ople remembered the vital role played by Del Rosario in ensuring the welfare of OFWs in areas hit by crisis during his term as DFA chief.
“One of the best examples of servant-leadership in times of our workers’ greatest need would be that of Secretary del Rosario,” said Ople.
“For that, he will always be remembered fondly and with gratitude by the overseas employment sector,” she added.
Ople cited as an example their experience during the mass evacuation of OFWs from Libya to Tunisia.
“He could have monitored it from the comfort and safety of his stately office at the DFA, but he didn’t. He chose to be at the Tunisian border, at tremendous risk to his own life, thus making every distressed worker, at that time, feel safe and cared for,” the official recalled.
Ople said Del Rosario also visited Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt that have resulted in the DFA’s repatriation of over 24,000 OFWs.
Under his watch, the DMW noted how the DFA extended assistance to over 80,000 OFWs from 2011 to 2015. — With Gerard Naval
