The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has expressed its sympathy to the family of its former chief Roberto R. Romulo who passed away on Jan. 23.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs condoles with the family of former DFA Secretary Roberto R. Romulo who passed away last 23 January," the department said in a statement on Wednesday, Jan. 26.
Romulo died at the age of 83.
The Foreign Affairs department paid tribute to Romulo who "was a visionary as he was an accomplished diplomat who had Philippine interests at heart while serving the country as Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union Institutions (1989- 1992), and later as Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1992 - 1995)."
"He will be remembered for bringing forward Philippine Foreign Policy in a post-Cold War context, helping to shape how regional security would be discussed in the years to come through his support for the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1994," the DFA added.
The department further said that Romulo is also the father of institutional economic diplomacy at the DFA, directly supervising the department’s economic diplomacy unit. He commissioned the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to publish six volumes of the Economic Diplomacy Handbook, which is still used to this day.
"With these and numerous other accomplishments, he will be fondly recalled by the women and men of the Department of Foreign Affairs as a statesman that upheld the ideals of excellence in the conduct of diplomacy," the DFA said.
The Carlos P. Romulo Foundation has encouraged those who would like to pay tribute to the late cabinet member to send their written or video messages to the foundation’s email at [email protected].
READ MORE: Ex-DFA chief Roberto Romulo passes away