When Senior Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing retired from the Supreme Court in 2009, Locsin was among the candidates nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council as a potential replacement. However, he was not appointed to the said post.[6] In 2012, he was nominated as chief justice to replace Renato Corona[7] but the post eventually went to Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Under his leadership, the Philippines voted to abstain from the challenge against the legality of the Independent Expert on SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) at a November 2016 session.[10]
Also, the Philippines was among 10 nations that voted against a UN resolution urging Myanmar to end its military campaign against Rohingya Muslims living in the Rakhine state in November 2017.[11]
Additionally, the country was one of 35 nations to abstain on the UN vote to declare the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital null and void during an emergency December 2017 session of the UN General Assembly.[11]
In March 2018, Locsin submitted the country's letter of withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, after President Duterte expressed his intent to withdraw from the court.[11] Locsin vacated the post of permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations on October 12, 2018, upon assuming the post of Foreign Affairs Secretary, with the former post being filled up by his successor, Enrique Manalo.
Foreign Affairs Secretary
Locsin (left) with United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February 2019
Locsin was sworn in by Duterte as secretary of Foreign Affairs on October 17, 2018.[1] His appointment confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on November 28, 2018.[13]
Ambassador to the United Kingdom
On August 30, 2022, President Bongbong Marcos nominated Locsin to be the next Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom, of which the position has been left vacant since July 7, 2022 after Antonio M. Lagdameo was appointed as the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations by President Marcos on July 7, 2022.[14]
Then-press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced Locsin's appointment on the aforementioned post on September 4, 2022, with his appointment being subsequently confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on December 7, 2022.[15] Later, Locsin has presented his credentials on May 16, 2023 to King Charles III.[2][16][17]
Amidst recent maritime confrontations with China due to territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea, President Marcos appointed Locsin on August 16, 2023 as concurrent Special Envoy of the President to the People’s Republic of China for Special Concerns.[18][19]
He was formerly married to Philippine Stock Exchange director Vivian Yuchengco. They have two daughters, Margarita and Bianca.
Social media presence
Locsin frequently uses social media as a platform to air his views. He is pro-death penalty, citing in Twitter that the President should order the mass murder of cops who hurt others. He has been criticised[by whom?] for his controversial use of social media.[20]
Executive assistant to the chairman of Ayala Corporation and Bank of the Philippine Islands (1982–1985)
Associate of Angara, Abello, Concepcion, Regala and Cruz Law offices (1977–1982)
Editorial writer of Philippine Free Press (1967–1972)
Political and societal positions
Locsin has found himself at the center of various controversial public statements via the social media platform Twitter.
Filipino language
In March 2016, during the during the Visayas leg of the PiliPinas Debates 2016, he opined in a tweet that the Tagalog language was "inappropriate to pointed debate" describing it as "so long, so bullshitty, so useless". Conversely, he described English as "the civilized language" and "the language of men".[21] He later defended his comments, saying "show me that [Tagalog] is a good language. That it is effective in debate, that it can get its point across". He did however praise Luchi Cruz-Valdes for effectively moderating the debate in Tagalog: "she got the point across. In spite of the terrible situation, she was in control, and she did it in Tagalog."[22]
Philippine Drug War
Locsin expressed support for the Philippine Drug War on August 21, 2017, through Twitter, comparing the campaign against drugs of President Duterte to Adolf Hitler's Final Solution and said he does not believe in the rehabilitation of drug addicts.[23] He followed this with another remark that the "Nazis were not all wrong" and said people should keep an open mind drawing criticism.[24] He cited Hitler's military and economic policies that "are paying off even now in German primacy in Europe" but conceded that the Holocaust "wiped out his economic contribution."[24] Locsin later retracted these remarks by deleting the tweet, however threatened individuals who criticized him.[23]
Locsin in a tweet said that while rape is a crime; an "indignity" and "outrage" it is not a heinous crime. Though he went on to mention select cases of rape as "heinous" such as a gang rape in India and an incident where the rapist is an ugly man. He then said that killing is not heinous or premeditated saying it's a common crime. His posts were criticized by some users of Twitter.[26]
Philippine Rise
On February 14, 2018, Locsin tweeted that criticizers of the Chinese names imposed by China on the Philippine Rise, which have been recognized by the International Hydrographic Organization, are 'childish and stupid', sparking a word war on the issue. Criticizers noted that Locsin is the current ambassador to the United Nations and should be one of the first to defend the Philippines' sovereignty and sovereign rights. Locsin did not reply afterwards.[27][non-primary source needed][28][non-primary source needed][29][30]
On July 27, 2020, a tweet by the Embassy of the United States to the Philippines regarding the donation of hygiene kits by Filipino expatriates from Sabah indicated that Sabah belongs to Malaysia. Locsin quoted the tweet and replied that "Sabah is not in Malaysia".[31] In response, on July 29, the foreign minister of Malaysia, Hishammuddin Hussein, called Locsin's remarks irresponsible and damaging to bilateral ties, and summoned the Philippine ambassador to Malaysia, Charles Jose.[32] In response, on July 30, Locsin also summoned the Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines, Norman Muhamad.[33]
Support of gasoline as a disinfectant
On August 1, 2020, Locsin responded to a tweet by radio personality Mo Twister criticizing President Duterte's suggestion of using gasoline as a disinfectant for face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic. Locsin asked Mo Twister "...what if [Duterte]'s right? Seriously, bro." He added that he knew of people in small towns who used to kill head lice by dropping them into kerosene.[34]
2023 Israel–Hamas war
In October 2023, amidst the Israel–Hamas war, in response to a tweet about Palestinian stone-throwing, Locsin tweeted "That's why Palestinian children should be killed; they might grow up to be gullible ... letting Hamas launch rockets at Israel." After drawing criticism, he deleted the tweet and apologized, explaining he "was not advocating for the literal death of anyone, but rather simply for the end of any ideology that condones terrorism." The Department of Foreign Affairs disassociated themselves from Locsin's comments, saying it was his personal opinion.[35][36]
One Bangsamoro Movement Inc., a Muslim civic group, filed a disbarment case against Locsin at the Supreme Court.[37]
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