DFA: Brady recovering well

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Cataumber Brady is recovering well after suffering a stroke on Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said Brady is now able to resume her duties and has scheduled a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

Hernandez said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario personally visited Brady in Beijing and confirmed she is recovering well.

Malacañang said the priority is the recovery of Brady.

“From what we understand, she is stable, she is in a stable condition, she is recovering. And when we received word about it, we were also likewise concerned for her health but we were assured by DFA that they were getting regular bulletins from our post in Beijing about the condition of Ambassador Brady,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

Valte said the focus is for Brady to get better, adding that “(replacing her) was not even discussed.”

She said Brady’s condition was stable and that diplomatic relations would be unaffected as the embassy’s charge d’affaires would take over while Brady is being treated.

Hernandez, on the other hand, said Del Rosario also took the opportunity to meet his Chinese counterpart for talks while in Beijing.

“Discussions between Secretary del Rosario and Minister Yang were productive and issues of mutual concern were discussed in a positive atmosphere,” he added.

Hernandez earlier said the embassy would continue with its mandate “to strengthen our bilateral relations with China,” even while Brady is in the hospital.

Brady was named ambassador in May amid a tense maritime standoff between the Philippines and China over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

During her confirmation at the Commission on Appointments (CA), Brady told the panel that she suffered a stroke earlier this year.

The veteran diplomat also told the CA that she underwent therapy and was certified by her doctors as being fully recovered.

The CA confirmed her appointment in May as the Philippine ambassador to China, less than a week after her nomination was announced by Malacañang.

She breezed through the CA, unlike President Aquino’s original nominee, businessman Domingo Lee, who underwent three hearings without getting a favorable action.

The urgency of sending an official representative of the country to China amid a tense standoff between the Philippines and China over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal was well understood by CA members. – With Aurea Calica