Senior diplomat with vast expertise on China is new DFA spokesman
A senior career diplomat with vast expertise on China on Monday formally assumed as the new spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Charles Jose, former Philippine Consul General to Shanghai, took over the post from Raul Hernandez, who is now the country’s envoy to South Korea.
A seasoned career diplomat, Jose is no stranger to China, having been posted in Beijing from 1989 to 1995 as Third Secretary and Vice Consul, then as Second Secretary and Consul until he became the embassy’s First Secretary and Consul before ending his tour of duty.
Twenty years later as a senior career officer, Jose returned to China, this time as the Philippines’ Consul General to Chongqing from 2009 to 2011. He then moved to Shanghai as Manila’s top diplomat in its Consulate General from 2011 to February 28, 2014.
Tough post
In an interview with reporters, Jose admitted that his new post would be a “tough” one, but nevertheless “happy to take on the challenge.”
“It’s a privilege for me to be selected as the next DFA spokesperson,” the 52-year-old diplomat said.
Amid lingering tensions with China over the disputed South China Sea, Jose said among his key priorities are to convey the country’s positions “effectively and efficiently.”
“We could like our citizens to be informed of the various issues that are going on right now and it is our job to be able to communicate with them very effectively,” he said.
Manila and Beijing are locked in a simmering territorial row over resource-rich waters, of which some parts situated within the country’s United Nations-mandated exclusive economic zone and continental shelf was renamed as West Philippine Sea by the Philippine government.
Seasoned diplomat
At the Home Office in Manila, Jose served as Executive Director for Asia-Pacific Affairs from 2005 to 2007; Special Assistant at the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination (1999); Executive Director at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs in Malacanang (1997-1998); Director of North Asia Division (1995-1997); and Assistant Director then Acting Director at the Office of ASEAN Affairs (1986-1989).
His other foreign assignments include: Thailand as Minister and Consul General and Deputy Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific from 2007 to 2009; and Singapore, where he was First Secretary, then Minister from 1999 to 2005.
Jose graduated in 1982 at the University of the Philippines with a degree in Economics and has a Master’s degree on South East Asian studies at the National University of Singapore.
He is married with two daughters. — KBK, GMA News
Charles Jose, former Philippine Consul General to Shanghai, took over the post from Raul Hernandez, who is now the country’s envoy to South Korea.
A senior career diplomat with vast expertise on China, Charles Jose will replace Raul Hernandez as DFA spokesperson. Photo by Michaela del Callar
Twenty years later as a senior career officer, Jose returned to China, this time as the Philippines’ Consul General to Chongqing from 2009 to 2011. He then moved to Shanghai as Manila’s top diplomat in its Consulate General from 2011 to February 28, 2014.
Tough post
In an interview with reporters, Jose admitted that his new post would be a “tough” one, but nevertheless “happy to take on the challenge.”
“It’s a privilege for me to be selected as the next DFA spokesperson,” the 52-year-old diplomat said.
Amid lingering tensions with China over the disputed South China Sea, Jose said among his key priorities are to convey the country’s positions “effectively and efficiently.”
“We could like our citizens to be informed of the various issues that are going on right now and it is our job to be able to communicate with them very effectively,” he said.
Manila and Beijing are locked in a simmering territorial row over resource-rich waters, of which some parts situated within the country’s United Nations-mandated exclusive economic zone and continental shelf was renamed as West Philippine Sea by the Philippine government.
Seasoned diplomat
At the Home Office in Manila, Jose served as Executive Director for Asia-Pacific Affairs from 2005 to 2007; Special Assistant at the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination (1999); Executive Director at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs in Malacanang (1997-1998); Director of North Asia Division (1995-1997); and Assistant Director then Acting Director at the Office of ASEAN Affairs (1986-1989).
His other foreign assignments include: Thailand as Minister and Consul General and Deputy Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific from 2007 to 2009; and Singapore, where he was First Secretary, then Minister from 1999 to 2005.
Jose graduated in 1982 at the University of the Philippines with a degree in Economics and has a Master’s degree on South East Asian studies at the National University of Singapore.
He is married with two daughters. — KBK, GMA News
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