Romualdez Nominated as Ambassador to US

After months of serving as special envoy to the United States, The STAR columnist Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez has accepted his nomination by Malacañang as ambassador to Washington. “I’m happy and honored to serve the country. I am humbled by President Duterte’s trust and confidence,” Romualdez said in a text message.

Romualdez will also have jurisdiction over Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and Grenadines and Saint Lucia.

“We are confident that with Mr. Romualdez at the helm of the Philippine embassy at Washington DC, he will further strengthen Philippine-US relations and promote stronger cooperation between the two countries,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said yesterday.

US Ambassador Sung Kim also congratulated Romualdez. “Warm congratulations to my good friend Babe Romualdez on his nomination to be ambassador to the US,” Kim wrote in his Twitter account.

Romualdez was first appointed by Duterte in December last year but he asked to be given at least six months to assume the post as he had to recuperate from an eye operation.

The new US ambassador to Washington is president of the Manila Overseas Press Club and vice president of the Manila Rotary. He is also chairman of the Philippine offices of several US-based multinational companies including FCB Manila and Weber Shandwick Philippines.

The newly appointed Philippine ambassador to the United States, Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, would make an excellent envoy since he once worked with a lobby group in Washington, DC, that lobbied for Philippine government interests. The dapper Babe was a reporter and newscaster at the defunct Kanlaon Broadcasting Service’s Channel 9 from 1970 to 1982, after which he migrated to the United States. He came back to the Philippines to work as a columnist for the Philippine Star. Babe’s uncle, Eduardo Z. Romualdez, was Philippine ambassador to Washington from 1971 to 1982.