Foreign office names new spokesperson
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Friday the appointment of career diplomat Angelica Escalona as the agency’s new spokesperson.
Escalona, who joined the DFA as a foreign service officer in 1996, succeeded former Ambassador Teresita Daza who had a nearly three-year stint.
Prior to her latest role in the agency, Escalona was the consul general in Toronto, Canada, for two years. She also held the same post in Manado City, Indonesia, from 2022 to 2023.
She served the DFA in various capacities in Honolulu, Tokyo and Jakarta.
Home office stints
Her other foreign service assignments include serving as the director for Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Affairs; acting director for Office of European Affairs and principal assistant for the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs as well as the Office of American Affairs.
Fluent in Nihongo, Escalona earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations degree as a Monbusho scholar from Tsukuba University in 1995. Four years later, she obtained her Master of Arts in Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University in Australia.
She has been recognized for her foreign service work, Gawad Mabini award in 2007 and a Medal of Distinction in Indonesia the year before.
