Duterte names veteran as envoy to US
MANILA: President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte has appointed a veteran diplomat and his incumbent chief protocol officer as the new ambassador to the US amid growing regional tensions arising mainly from the unresolved territorial disputes involving the Philippines and other countries with China in the South China.
Duterte cited the experience of Marciano Paynor as a “seasoned” diplomat in assigning him as the next ambassador to the US.
Paynor’s appointment followed the “polite refusal” of Secretary Delfin Lorenzana of the Department of National Defence regarding Duterte’s offer to name him as the new ambassador to the US, one of the choicest assignments in the foreign service.
A member of Class 1971 of the Philippine Military Academy, Paynor also served as the protocol chief of former presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, now a congresswoman for her home province of Pampanga in Central Luzon.
Before that, Paynor also served as Arroyo’s presidential assistant for state and foreign visits.
When the Philippines hosted the annual summit of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum in 2015, Paynor was appointed the chief of Apec National Organising Committee.
Officials pointed out that Paynor’s new assignment would closely follow the scheduled meeting between Duterte and US President Barack Obama on Sept.6 in Laos which is hosting the summit of leaders of the Pacific Rim nations.
