DFA spokesman named ambassador to South Korea

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez will soon stop giving press briefings for the agency as he joins the diplomatic corps by President Benigno Aquino III's appointment.

In a transmittal letter to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Aquino signed the appointment letters of Hernandez to become country's new Ambassador to South Korea after serving as the agency's spokesperson since July 2011.

Hernandez has held various diplomatic positions in China, Canada and the Hague, Netherlands since he joined the department in 1993.

Alonside Hernandez, Aquino also appointed Maria Amelita Aquino as Ambassador to Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Petronila Garcia, meanwhile, was named Ambassador to Canada and Antonio Morales is the country's new Ambassador to Singapore.

Prior to her appointment, Aquino served as head of the Office of American Affairs since January 2009.

Garcia was Assistant Secretary in the Office of Middle East and African Affairs since September 2011.

Morales, meanwhile, served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Peninsula Beijing since March 2013.