‘It echoes in classrooms, homes, and hearts — in the spaces where policy becomes personal, and partnership becomes legacy.’
THERE’S something quietly momentous about a new ambassador’s arrival — especially in a region where diplomacy is no longer just ritual, but an anchor of strategy.
Mr. Marc Innes-Brown PSM, Australia’s recently arrived ambassador to the Philippines, steps into a space shaped by trust, trade, and recalibrated imperatives under the Indo-Pacific’s shifting tides.
But for many of us — those who’ve lived this alliance from the ground up — it’s more than protocol. It’s deeply personal.
Back when I served under Ambassador Delia Domingo-Albert in Canberra as Information Attaché, I witnessed firsthand what true diplomacy looks like: the slow and careful cultivation of empathy between two nations.
I was fortunate to learn from Ambassador Albert and serve the Philippines representing the flag, the government and the people alongside dedicated colleagues whose quiet commitment shaped the Philippine diplomatic presence in Australia — Ambassador Edwin Bael, Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, Ambassador Doy Lucenario, Ambassador Leah Basinang-Ruiz (now posted in Poland), Consul General Odette Salcedo (last posted in Melbourne), Protocol Officer Juan “JR” Rillo (now with the Philippine Embassy in Switzerland), Military Attaché Army Col. Vicsie Abat, and Agriculture Attaché Boots Albarece — among others.
That memory remains vivid.
Today, as Country Representative for Gap Drone Pty. Ltd., an Australian cargo drone technology company, I draw from that foundation to pursue tangible cooperation.
We’re working to establish a regional manufacturing hub in the Philippines under a joint venture agreement — proof that lived experience can evolve into legacy collaboration.
Gap Drone is not just tech for tech’s sake, but scalable innovation to support disaster response, archipelagic logistics, and regional resilience.
What we call a “Strategic Partnership” — elevated in 2023 by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — is not mere diplomatic code. It’s a working framework.
And it translates into real cooperation across defense, trade, clean energy, technology, education, and grassroots development.
None of this happens in abstraction.
Under Mr. Rafael Toda’s stewardship, the Australia Philippines Business Council (APBC) has become the muscle behind economic engagement, syncing public and private sectors across agriculture, skills training, mining, and the green transition.
In 2024 alone, APBC posted record participation, engaging key Philippine agencies like the DTI, DA, DFA, PEZA, and BCDA — each pivotal in unlocking sustained bilateral investment.
The momentum is unmistakable. The gears are aligned.
But there’s also a wider strategic canvas. Both nations are committed to a “free, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.”
The Philippine alliance with Australia reinforces a rules-based international order.
President Marcos Jr. has underscored this: “We must oppose actions that clearly denigrate the rule of law.” Mutual security isn’t just a shared priority — it’s a shared duty.
And the anchor — always — is people.
A new chapter opens with the Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visa — a first in our bilateral history.
This isn’t merely a travel window; it’s civic exchange. It enables young adults to live, work, and study in Australia, deepening the people-to-people ties that outlive treaties and tenure.
And quietly, it affirms the enduring essence of diplomacy and friendship.
My own family has witnessed these bonds firsthand.
Through Xavier School in Greenhills — where my two sons studied — we hosted, over four years, students from St. Aloysius’ College in Sydney. Young men like Denzel Anthony, Tim Geary, Trent Walsh, and Jeremy He became part of our home.
They came to the Philippines through a Jesuit-led immersion program, building homes in the Mountain Province, visiting inmates at the National Bilibid Penitentiary, and connecting with communities whose stories often go unheard.
Their presence and compassion offered living proof of human connections forged across education, service, and shared faith — an early glimpse into the quiet essence of diplomacy and friendship.
Today, my sons — and my eldest daughter, who was three years old when I first served in Canberra — still carry the quiet weight of those encounters.
My children remain in contact with those who once shared our table, our roof, and our realities. It was, and continues to be, a lived testament to empathy across borders — a bridge not just between nations, but between souls.
Beyond summits and signed memoranda, it’s the human connection that drives genuine partnership.
That’s the true essence of diplomacy and friendship.
There are now more than 400,000 Australians of Filipino descent. That’s not merely a statistic.
It’s a living archive — a constellation of families, educators, professional health workers, civic leaders and skilled workers — each shaping public life with private hope.
And in Melbourne, a new chapter of grassroots diplomacy is also underway with the recent arrival of Consul General Jesus “Gary” S. Domingo, who has assumed his position at the helm of the Philippine Consulate, replacing Consul General Salcedo.
He is a veteran diplomat with a focus on multilateral and humanitarian cooperation, and his appointment as Consul General to the Philippine Consulate in Melbourne is a timely affirmation of the importance of people-to-people connections, particularly for the large Filipino community in Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania.
Consul General Domingo will not only serve the consular needs of our kababayans but is also tasked with a crucial economic mandate.
A key part of his role will be to actively promote the Philippines as an attractive investment hub.
This involves engaging with Australian businesses and investors, highlighting opportunities in sectors such as sustainable infrastructure, technology, and green energy, and showcasing the skilled Filipino workforce as a key asset for any partnership.
Three of my children now study in Australia, forging paths shaped by Filipino excellence abroad.
Their journey, like that of countless other Filipino students, is part of a broader civic exchange — a quiet promise: that what they learn, they will one day bring home.
As we express gratitude to outgoing Ambassador HK Yu PSM for her exemplary service, and welcome Ambassador Innes-Brown — a diplomat whose résumé signals continuity, experience, and warm familiarity — and also give our heartfelt thanks to Consul General Salcedo while we welcome Consul General Domingo, we mark the future with optimism.
And as APBC and other partners build on hard-won gains, they propel forward a partnership grounded not only in stability and prosperity but in conviction.
Diplomacy is often quiet work.
But when anchored in empathy and shaped by generations, its resonance travels far beyond embassies and summits.
It echoes in classrooms, homes, and hearts — in the spaces where policy becomes personal, and partnership becomes legacy.
