After undergoing a seven-day mandatory isolation, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. carried on with swearing in officials he picked to lead certain posts under his administration.
On Friday night, July 15, he announced that he is retaining Ambassador Manuel Antonio Teehankee as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) after Teehankee was sworn in on the same day.
"Pagkatapos ng ating isolation period, tayo ay nakipag-usap kay Ambassador Manuel Antonio Teehankee at pinangunahan ang kanyang panunumpa bilang Philippine Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (After my isolation period, we talked to Ambassador Manuel Antonio Teehankee and led his oath taking as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization)," Marcos said in a Facebook post.
Marcos tested positive for Covid-19 on July 8. He underwent a seven-day isolation which ended Friday.
Teehankee, who is also a lawyer, served as the country's envoy to the World Trade Organization in Geneva under the Duterte administration since 2017.
This will be his third tour of duty as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the WTO as he also handled the post in 2004 to 2011.
The ambassador also served as an undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
He was also an undersecretary of the Department of Justice during the term of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
In 2012, he was awarded the DFA Distinguished Service Award for his diplomatic service to the country.