Senior Deputy Speaker and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed elation on Saturday evening, Dec. 10 over the confirmation of her only daughter, Evangelina Lourdes “Luli” Arroyo-Bernas as Philippine Ambassador to Austria.
According to the Pampanga 2nd district congresswoman, Arroyo-Bernas is "highly-qualified" on her own to get the position.
“I thank President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for appointing Luli as ambassador to Austria and the Commission on Appointments (CA) for confirming the appointment. My husband and I are proud of what our three children have achieved," she said in a statement.
Arroyo-Bernas was appointed mid-October by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Philippines to the Republic of Austria.
The post has concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Croatia, Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.
The 25-member CA, which is composed of House of Representatives and Senate members, confirmed the appointment of Ambassador Arroyo-Bernas last Dec. 7.
Macapagal-Arroyo, also a former House Speaker thanked the members of media who mentioned her daughter’s qualifications and stressed that the latter had passed the difficult exams for Foreign Service Officer (FSO) in 2000.
“Some reporters mentioned Luli’s qualifications, and I thank them for reminding the public that she is highly qualified on her own," she said.
Arroyo-Bernas was one of only three passers out of the over 3,000 examinees of that year’s FSO exams.
The following year, her mother became Philippine president, a position she would hold until 2010. Arroyo-Bernas wasn't appointed to foreign service-related post during that span of time.
Macapagal-Arroyo's daughter holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) degree from Georgetown University in Washington DC, United States (US) and was chair of the board of trustees of the National Museum prior to being appointed as an envoy.