IMO Secretary General Koji Sekimizu (center) and Mr. James Paw (left) of the IMO Secretariat welcome Filipino diplomat Rommel Romato (right) to the IMO.

4 October 2012 — The Philippine Embassy in London reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Mr. Rommel Romato, Third Secretary, has commenced his participation in the 1-year IMO Associate Professional Officers (APO) Program.

Under the APO Program, IMO Member States like the Philippines are encouraged to nominate officials who would be able to acquaint themselves with the works of IMO, while simultaneously providing IMO with additional manpower resources to enable the Organization to meet the requirements of its Member States.

This is the first time that the Philippines has participated in the APO Program of IMO.

“We believe that it is in the interest of the country to develop our next generation of maritime experts by working closely with the IMO through its APO Program, “remarked Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo who is concurrently the Philippine Permanent Representative to IMO.

Romato joins Mr. James Po and Mrs. Annabelle Viajar who are the only two Filipino experts serving in the IMO Secretariat.

IMO is the technical agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting safety at sea and protecting the marine environment.