Sec Albert F del Rosario, 1939-2023 (Memo U2223-0078)

 

 

With deep sadness, we inform the University community of the passing away of Sec Albert F del Rosario on 18 April 2023. He was 83 years old.

Sec del Rosario was regarded with awe wherever he went in diplomacy and foreign affairs. Eloquent, thoughtful, and mild-mannered, he was relentless in promoting and defending the national interest of the Philippines. Throughout his tenure as Secretary of Foreign Affairs (2011-2016), del Rosario’s support for the plight of the Filipino diaspora was unwavering. Under his leadership, the Department of Foreign Affairs extended assistance to over 80,000 overseas Filipinos and their families. The consummate diplomat also believed in international economic relations, expanding the county’s trade agreements on tourism, trade, education, and air services.

He was devoted to his beloved Philippines and was a crucial figure in the arbitration case asserting the country’s sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea/ South China Sea. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in favor of the Philippines, debunking China’s claims of the sea.

In 2018, the Ateneo de Manila University conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities on del Rosario.

We request the Ateneo community to keep Sec Albert F del Rosario and his family in your prayers.

†
Eternal rest grant unto Albert, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.