Duterte to appoint Palace chief protocol officer Paynor as US ambassador

From Rappler (Aug 30): Duterte to appoint Palace chief protocol officer Paynor as US ambassador

(UPDATED) The President plans to appoint former UN attache and ABS-CBN anchor Robert Borje as the new Palace Chief Protocol Officer

President Rodrigo Duterte intends to appoint Malacañang Palace Chief Protocol Officer Marciano Paynor as the Philippines' Ambassador to the United States.

Duterte told this to media during an ambush interview on Monday, August 29, in Malacañang Palace.

Paynor's "stretch in the foreign service" and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana's recommendation of him were among the reasons why Duterte picked him.

Paynor was also the Director General of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) National Organizing Council.

"He's good...Kaya niya 'yan (He can do it)," said Duterte.

Duterte said he is yet to nominate Paynor for the position. The appointment will also have to go through the Congress' Committee on Appointments.

Paynor served as Philippine Consul General to San Francisco, Washington DC, Gabon, Budapest, Rome, Israel, Cyprus, and Los Angeles.

Prior to his foreign service career, Paynor was a military man. He was an alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy but left the military in 1983 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Duterte's choice comes after Lorenzana declined the post of ambassador to the US.
With Paynor's upcoming appointment, the post of Chief Protocol Officer will be offered to ABS-CBN anchor Robert Borje.

"I have one nominee, I don't know if he's qualified, Borje," said Duterte.

Borje, who hails from Duterte's hometown Davao City, also entered the foreign service. He is the son of a former military man, retired Commodore Adolf Borje of the Philippine Navy, supposedly a friend of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/144576-duterte-marciano-paynor-united-states-ambassador