The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed the nomination of former Philippine Cabinet secretary Silvestre Bello III as the new head of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), the country’s de facto embassy in Taiwan.
The nomination of Bello, a 78-year-old lawyer who served as secretary of labor and employment in 2016 under former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, was made by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday last week.
The official nomination was expected to be announced after Marcos Jr’s inauguration yesterday, MOFA deputy spokesperson Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) said.
Photo: Screen grab from Facebook
Asked about the incoming MECO head, Michael Hsu (徐佩勇), head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, said that Bello had close relations with the country’s executive branch, and extensive experience in politics and public service.
As secretary of labor, Bello visited Taiwan in 2019 for a round of labor meetings, he added.
About 150,000 Philippine migrant workers live in Taiwan, making the country the third-largest source of migrant workers to the nation, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam.
“Bello’s nomination is a perfect choice for MECO chair,” Hsu said, adding that he is looking forward to working closely with Bello to enhance bilateral ties.
“I believe he is the MECO chair with the highest public profile, having previously served as a department secretary,” Hsu said, adding that the previous highest-level MECO chairs were deputy ministers or deputy secretaries.
Bello would be replacing incumbent Wilfredo Fernandez.
Bello has been in politics since 1986, when he was appointed governor of Isabela province from April 1986 to February 1988.
He later held several Cabinet positions, including as secretary of justice from July 1991 to February 1992 under then-Philippine president Corazon Aquino; and then again as acting justice secretary under former president Fidel Ramos from February 1998 to June 1998.
From 2004 until 2010, he was Cabinet secretary under then-Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS