PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. appointed former Former Davao City Second District Representative Mylene Garcia-Albano as the country's new envoy to Japan.

This was announced in a Facebook post of state-run Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) on Friday, August 12, wherein Garcia was among those who took her oath in front of the President at the Malacañang Palace on Thursday, August 11.

Garcia-Albano was a former Representative of the Davao City 2nd District, serving three consecutive terms from 2010 to 2019.

She is the sister of current Second District Representative Vincent Garcia.

Garcia-Albano told SunStar Davao in an online interview that she is "extremely honored and humbled" by the President's appointment.

"God willing, my nomination can be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments and I can serve as the first female Philippine Ambassador to Japan," the former lawmaker said.

She said she is looking forward to her new position, where she will serve many fellow Filipinos who currently live and work in Japan.

Meanwhile, Garcia-Albano said the ambassador’s role is to represent the country, mainly on diplomatic relations, and to work for the advancement of national interest in the receiving state.

"An Ambassador can be of service to our kababayans by ensuring that their consular needs are provided and that they are assisted in a timely and professional manner if they have problems that the Embassy can help them with," she added.

According to the statistics of the Philippine Global National Inquirer and the Ministry of Justice, Filipinos in Japan formed a population of 325,000 individuals at year-end 2020, making them Japan's third-largest foreign community along with Vietnamese. RGL