19 February 2010 - In a ceremony held at the DFA, Foreign Affairs Secretary Dr. Alberto G. Romulo administered the Oath of Office to Ambassador Erlinda F. Basilio as the Departments' new Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs for Policy.
Ambassador Basilio replaces outgoing Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo who will assume his new post as Philippine Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.
Ambassador Basilio recently served as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva where she was responsible for the Philippines' representation in the various UN institutions and offices located in Geneva such as the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and in other important Geneva-based organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cress / International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (ICRC/IFRC), the International Organization on Migration (IOM) and the World Intellecutal Property Organization (WIPO).
This is the second time for Ambassador Basilio to be the Departments' Undersecretary for Policy, having previously served in the same position from April 2006 to August 2007.