A Brief Background & History of the Philippine Foreign Service

What is the Foreign Service?

Foreign service, also known as Diplomatic Service, is a mission and foreign office comprised of diplomatic and consular personnel that represent a home government's interests abroad and providing services and information that are based on particular foreign policy. The Foreign Service officers operate and adhere to customs and rules of their governments in conducting their international relations and international law.

To pursue a career in the Philippine Foreign Service means to work with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the government of the Philippines' executive department tasked to enhance national security, protect territorial and national sovereignty, protect the rights and promote the welfare of Filipinos overseas, and maintain peaceful and productive relations with other countries.

How did the Philippine Foreign Service / Department of Foreign Affairs begin?

The Philippine Foreign Service is traced back to the formation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) over a hundred years ago, which is closely connected and intertwined to the beginnings of the Republic of the Philippines. Eleven days after the declaration of Philippine independence, President Emilio Aguinaldo appointed Apolinario Mabini as the very first Secretary of Foreign Affairs on 23 June 1898 at Kawit, Cavite. Mabini's first task as the Secretary was to establish diplomatic relations with friendly countries in order to push for the recognition of the new government under the leadership of Aguinaldo. 

The Philippine independence was short-lived as the nation was immediately colonized by the United States in 1898, to which it remained a colony until 1946. The Japanese occupation also happened from 1942 to 1944. It was only until July 1946 that the country fully regained its independence, as well as full control of its diplomatic affairs. The Department of Foreign Affairs was created through the Commonwealth Act No. 732. On September 16, 1946, President Manuel Roxas issued Executive Order No. 18, calling for the operation of the DFA and the Foreign Service. The primary mandate of the DFA at that time was to assist in the post-war rehabilitation, promote investments and establish diplomatic relations with other countries.

What were the main accomplishments of the DFA in its early days?

After the DFA was formally established during post-war years, it led to the conclusion of the Republic of the Philippines-United States of America Mutual Defense Treaty, an accord signed on August 31, 1951, in Washington DC that contains eight articles and dictates for both nations to support each other if an external party attacked the Philippines and the United States.

The DFA also led in the Laurel-Langley Agreement, a trade agreement signed in 1955 between the US-Philippines that paved the way for fair and balanced trade relations with the US.

The Philippines became a founding member of the United Nations and one of the drafters and authors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1952, Carlos P. Romulo was elected as the first Asian President of the UN General Assembly, increasing our involvement and participation in global matters. 

When and how did the Philippine Foreign Service Officer's Examination start?

The Philippine Foreign Service Officer's Examination was a by-product of the passage of the Foreign Service Act of 1952, pushed by President Elpidio Quirino. The Philippine Foreign Service Officer Examination was later instituted by Raul S. Manglapus, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs under the Magsaysay Administration. This was with the intention to professionalize the foreign service and to refine the selection process of new foreign service officers.