Imelda Macapundag Panolong (born January 9, 1968)[1] is a Filipina career diplomat who is the current Ambassador of the Philippines to Oman. She is the first Muslim woman in the Philippine diplomatic corps to be promoted to the rank of Career Minister and later, Chief of Mission, Class II and also the first female Muslim ambassador of the Philippines.[2][3] Before becoming ambassador, she served as the consul general of the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and has completed tours of duty in Pakistan, Bahrain, Canada, Indonesia and the United States.[4]
Imelda Panolong | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Panolong in 2017 | |
| Ambassador of the Philippines to Oman | |
| Assumed office August 16, 2020 | |
| President | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Preceded by | Narciso T. Castañeda |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 9, 1968 Malaysia |
| Spouse | Jamel Panolong |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines Diliman |
Early life and education
editPanolong was born on January 9, 1968, in Malaysia.[1]
She studied at the University of the Philippines Diliman where she graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree Major in Political Science and earned academic units in 1990-91 for a master's degree in International Studies.
Career
editPanolong's career in the Philippine Foreign Service began when she served as a contractual[2] clerk at the Office of Cultural Affairs and Public Information Services in the Home Office beginning in 1992. Up until 1995, she worked at various offices in the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs including as a clerk in the Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, as a foreign service officer at the Foreign Service Institute and as the assistant director of the Passport Division.[1]
Her first overseas post was at the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan where she served as the third secretary and vice consul from 1995 to 1996. She then worked as a consul in the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah from 1996 to 2001 where she handled Assistance-to-Nationals issues.[1][4]
From 2001 to 2003, Panolong was recalled to the Home Office where she served as the director for North Africa Division in the Office of Middle East and African Affairs. She then became the first secretary and consul of the Philippine Embassy in Manama, Bahrain from 2003 to 2006, and deputy consul general of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Canada from 2006 to 2009.[1]
She returned to the Philippines in 2009 to serve again in the Office of Middle East and African Affairs but this time as the director for Middle East Division. In 2011, Panolong was posted to the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia as its deputy chief of mission and consul general. She was then posted to the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, California where she served as its deputy consul general from 2014 to August 2015.[1]
In September 2015, Panolong was appointed to the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to serve as its consul general.[1] She was the first Filipina to serve in that position and the first Asian woman to become a consul general in Saudi Arabia.[4][5] She received her exequatur from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 7, 2015.[6] During her time as consul general, Panolong facilitated the repatriation of at least 683 overseas Filipino workers from Saudi Oger, which closed down in 2017, and Saudi Binladin Group.[7] As her consulate's jurisdiction includes Mecca, Panolong was also responsible for the wellbeing of Muslim Filipinos joining the annual Hajj.[8]
On March 25, 2017, she was designated as the chargé d'affaires of the Philippine embassy in Riyadh.[9] Her term as chargé d'affaires saw the first state visit of a Philippine president to Saudi Arabia in eight years.[10] She was among those that greeted President Rodrigo Duterte upon his arrival at the King Khalid International Airport and accompanied him, along with senior government officials, during his courtesy call to King Salman of Saudi Arabia.[11][12]
In 2018, she became an assistant secretary of foreign affairs and also the chairperson of the agency's Bids and Awards Committee.[13]
Ambassador to Oman
editIn February 2020, Duterte nominated Panolong to be the Philippine Ambassador to Oman, succeeding outgoing Ambassador Narciso Castañeda.[14] She was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on March 4, 2020.[3] She arrived in Muscat on August 16, 2020, and on November 8, she presented her credentials to Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.[15][16] She is the seventh and first female Philippine Ambassador to Oman.[15] At the time of her appointment, Oman accommodated around 45,000 Filipinos, the fourth largest expatriate population in the country with the numbers steadily increasing before the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
Personal life
editImelda Panolong is married to Jamel Panolong and they have three sons being Mohammad, Mohsen, and Mohaisen Panolong.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Philippine Consulate General - Jeddah. 2015.
- ^ a b Lacson, Panfilo M. (March 4, 2020). "Sponsorship Speech at the Commission on Appointments". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ a b Ismael, Javier Joe (March 4, 2020). "CA confirms appointments of Foreign Affairs, Military officials". The Manila Times. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Consul General Imelda Panolong". Department of Foreign Affairs on Facebook. March 11, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ Concha, Ronaldo (September 15, 2015). "First female Asian consul general in Saudi Arabia is a Pinay". GMA News. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- ^ "New Philippine Consul General Arrives in Jeddah". Philippine Consulate General Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "More displaced OFWs at failed company go home". Saudi Gazette. October 27, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "Over 8k Pinoy Muslims flock to Saudi Arabia for annual Hajj pilgrimage". GMA News. September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- ^ "Interview with Consul Imelda Macapundag Panolong". Radio Television Malacañang. April 9, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Duterte eyes warmer RP-KSA ties with visit, the first by a sitting RP president in 8 years". Presidential Communications Operations Office. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Duterte arrives in Saudi capital". Presidential Communications Operations Office. April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Philippine President meets King of Saudi Arabia". Presidential Communications Operations Office. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Home Office Personnel Directory". February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Kabiling, Genalyn (February 17, 2020). "Ferrer, Domingo among new Presidential appointees". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ a b "New Philippine Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman – HE Imelda Macapundag Panolong". Juan in Oman. August 17, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "His Majesty receives credentials of ambassadors". Oman Daily Observer. November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "PR-92-2020: PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH OMAN LABOR MINISTER". Embassy of the Philippines Muscat, Oman. November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.