Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Ambassador Buensuceso to be Guest of Honor in 2019 Asian Center-Tricollege Recognition Ceremony

Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso will be the guest of honor in the recognition ceremonies of the UP Asian Center and Tri-College Phd Philippine Studies Program on 30 June 2019, 2 pm, the GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Quezon City.

Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso will be the guest of honor in the recognition ceremonies of the UP Asian Center and Tri-College Phd Philippine Studies Program on 30 June 2019, 2 pm, the GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Quezon City.

Ambassador Buensuceso was, until recently, the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the ASEAN. She was Chair of the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee and four other ASEAN bodies. With over 38 years in Philippine Foreign Service, she has served as Ambassador to Lao PDR and to Norway, with concurrent accreditation to Denmark and Iceland. She was also posted in China, Belgium, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In the Home Office, she was Assistant Secretary for European Affairs.

She has championed Philippine national interests as well as brought together all ASEAN member states to a consensus on a variety of agreements and documents issued by the ministers and leaders of ASEAN. In 2017, she was awarded the Presidential Gawad Mabini Kamanong with the rank of commander.

Throughout her career as a diplomat, she has given various talks on maritime security, ASEAN Connectivity, and ASEAN’s processes and mechanisms. She has led delegations in international and bilateral conferences and negotiations focused on rights of the migrant workers, cooperation and promotion of Philippine exports, investments, and tourism.

Ambassador Buensuceso attended the Asia Pacific College of Security Studies in 2003. She obtained the degree MA Asian Studies from the UP Asian Center, and took up MA in Teaching English and BA major in English at the University of the East, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Four newly minted PhDs of the Tri-College Philippine Studies Program and 22 MA graduates of the UP Asian Center are scheduled to march during the recognition ceremony on 30 June.

The Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.