Remains of PH envoy to China arrive in PH
MANILA, Philippines — The remains of Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana arrived in the Philippines on Wednesday.
The Philippine Air Force C-295 aircraft carrying Sta. Romana’s remains landed at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City at around 5:30 p.m. It took off from China at noon.
The remains were welcomed by arrival honors witnessed by the late envoy’s bereaved family. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. also led Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials in paying respects to the late ambassador.
They offered white roses to Sta. Romana before the wooden casket containing his remains was driven out of the tarmac. Locsin then handed a Philippine flag to a teary Flor Marie Sta. Romana Cruz, the envoy’s sister.
It was last week that the DFA announced Sta. Romana’s passing. He was 74.
The DFA made no mention of the ambassador’s cause of death.
Sta. Romana was appointed as Manila’s top diplomat to China in December 2016 “in recognition of his deep knowledge of China’s history and people.”
“Under his distinguished tenure, Philippine-China relations flourished despite differences; indeed they flowered all the more in maturity and were deeply strengthened. We honor his important legacy of selfless service to the Filipino in the most challenging foreign post,” the DFA said in a previous statement.
Sta. Romana is an award-winning journalist who served as the Beijing bureau chief of ABC News. He lived and worked in China from 1989 until his retirement in 2010.