Diplomat: H.E. Mary Jo A. Bernardo-Aragon
Bangkok posting another milestone in Philippines Ambassador’s long and lustrous career Words MAXMILIAN WECHSLER
The Philippines Ambassador to Thailand, Her Excellency Mary Jo A. Bernardo-Aragon, began her assignment in Bangkok in July 2015. She has since established a well-deserved reputation in the local diplomatic corps as a highly experienced career diplomat who is also open, sincere and down-to-earth. During our conversation at the Philippine embassy on Sukhumvit Road she revealed a passion for work in the foreign ser vice that began well before she joined the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in June 1979. She also revealed that her assignment in Bangkok is the final chapter of a distinguished career. “This is my first and also my last ambassadorial appointment,” said the ambassador. “I am already 64 years old and our mandator y retirement age is 65.”
Background
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was born and raised in Manila and went to a Catholic school run by nuns – Saint Rita College for elementary and part of high school. My father, who worked for the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission, was seconded by the Philippine government in 1969 to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, where I finished high school at the American International School. My parents, older sister and I were all in Vienna. I am the youngest in the family. My elder brother was at that time studying in the United Kingdom. After high school I continued my studies in Germany and the UK. Having lived in Austria and Germany, I had the opportunity to learn the German language. Regrettably, I have not spoken the language for so long, but I hope to pick it up again,” said the ambassador. “In those years abroad I was exposed to many new things. While studying at the international school I became interested in meeting people from different backgrounds and in international organizations. At the university, I took courses in international relations to prepare myself for a career where I could be of service to my country and our people, and at the same time have the opportunity to meet people from different countries.” After passing the Foreign Service Officers’ Examinations, Ms Bernardo-Aragon joined the Department of Foreign
Affairs in Manila in 1979, where over the years she held a number of important positions. As she had hoped, her profession has also allowed her to spend a lot of time abroad. She represented her country for a number of years in Brussels and also saw extensive duty on the other side of the Atlantic, first in New York City with the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and then in Los Angeles with the Philippine General Consulate there. “My very first posting abroad was as Third Secretary and Vice-Consul at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels in 1982, dealing with our bilateral relations with Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1985, the Philippine embassy and Philippine Mission to the Commission of the European Community were merged. At that time, our overseas postings were for eight years, which were reduced to six years by the Philippine Foreign Service Act in 1991. Then we return to Manila to serve in the Home Office for two or three years before we become eligible for another posting abroad,” said the ambassador. Her last position before coming to Thailand was in Manila for three years as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Internal Audit Services. “I am not an accountant, nor a lawyer, so I had to have some training for that job. Establishing offices of internal audit in different government agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, was a part of the government’s anti-corruption measures. My office reported directly to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.”
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