Antonio Manuel "Tonet" Revilla Lagdameo (born June 13, 1942) is a Filipino businessman and diplomat currently serving as the

Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations The ambassador and permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations () is the head of the diplomatic mission of the government of the Philippines to the United Nations. List of permanent representatives See also * Filipinos in ...

since 2022. He is set to retire as Permanent Representative on July 31, 2025. Prior to that role, he was the Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2022, and previously from 2009 to 2010. From 2007 to 2008, he served as the Philippine Ambassador to Mexico, with concurrent accreditation to

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. From 2008 to 2009, he was the Philippine Ambassador to Spain with concurrent jurisdiction over

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

Early life and education

Lagdameo is the son of Ernesto Lagdameo, who was

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, , sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

from 1969 to 1971 during the

presidency of Ferdinand Marcos A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

, and Pilar Revilla. He initially considered a career in medicine during his time at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

, where he obtained a pre-med associate in arts degree in 1961. However, he later shifted his focus to business, leading him to earn a bachelor's degree in accountancy from the

University of the East The University of the East (), also known as UE, is a private university located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1946, business tycoon Lucio Tan acquired the university in 1990. UE was once labeled as the "largest university in Asia" when i ...

in 1964. Subsequently, he pursued further education, graduating in 1971 with a graduate in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

from Ateneo de Manila University.

Career

Lagdameo mostly worked in the private sector and business before his diplomatic career. His private office and civic affiliations include being chairman of the board of Carrije Holdings, beginning in 2000 and vice chairman for House of Travel Inc. beginning in 1998, among others. In the 1990s, he was president of Lagbros Corporation and director-treasurer of the Industrial Underwriters and Commercial Corporation, and L & B Development Corporation. He served as the sixth chairman of the

Philippine Racing Commission The Philippine Racing Commission (), abbreviated as Philracom, is a government agency under the Office of the President that functions as the supervisory and regulating body of horse racing in the Philippines. The agency was established on March ...

from 1994 to 1998. Prior to this role, he had been a commissioner since 1993 and a former director of the Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners (MARHO).

Diplomatic career

Lagdameo's involvement in diplomacy began in 2007 when then-President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president ...

named him Ambassador to Mexico, with concurrent accreditation to

and

. He took over the role from Ambassador Justo Orros Jr., the former

governor of La Union The governor of La Union () is the chief executive of the provincial government of La Union. List of governors of La Union There have been 28 governors of La Union since the establishment of civil government by the Americans in 1901. See als ...

, who had passed away while in office in 2006. Then, from 2008 to 2009, he was Ambassador to Spain and

Ambassador to the United Kingdom

In 2009, he was appointed as the Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, which also made him the Ambassador to the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO; ; ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport. The IMO was established following agreement at a ...

. He held this role until the conclusion of the Arroyo administration in 2010. However, he returned to the same position in 2017 during the

Duterte administration Rodrigo Duterte's six-year tenure as the 16th President of the Philippines began on June 30, 2016, succeeding Benigno Aquino III. He was the first president from Mindanao, the first president to have worked in all three branches of governme ...

. As the ambassador, Lagdameo's primary focus was the well-being of the large Filipino community in the United Kingdom. He continued the practice of offering mobile consular services to Filipinos across his jurisdiction to streamline document processing. Additionally, he organized regular townhall gatherings at the embassy, known as "''Kapihan sa Pasuguan''" (Coffee at the Embassy), which provided

Overseas Filipino Worker Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...

s the opportunity to engage with high-level visitors. Furthermore, he actively promoted Filipino culture by collaborating with UK-based Philippine cultural organizations. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Lagdameo was involved in the monitoring of affected Filipinos in the UK and Ireland, especially those in the frontline employed as healthcare workers. According to a 2019 report published by the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

(NHS), Filipinos, who comprise around 19,000 of all NHS staff, are among the largest groups of NHS health workers, third to those who are identified as British and Indians. In May 2020, he called on the NHS to protect Filipino healthcare workers following reports that of the 173 frontline health and care workers who died due to COVID-19, approximately 13% were of Filipino heritage. Lagdameo was also involved in meetings which discussed the UK's vaccine development and access of

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

member states to said vaccines. During the commencement of the 32nd session of the International Maritime Organization Assembly in December 2021, Lagdameo was chosen as its president, representing a significant first for the Philippines. He received a nomination from the United Kingdom's representative and was seconded by the South African representative. This election held particular significance as it coincided with the World Maritime Theme for 2021, which centered on the essential role of seafarers in the future of shipping. The Philippines is a major supplier of seafarers in the global shipping and transport industry, making Lagdameo's appointment particularly relevant.

Permanent Representative to the United Nations

In 2022, President

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

appointed Lagdameo as the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, succeeding

Enrique Manalo Enrique Austria Manalo (born July 21, 1952) is a Filipino diplomat serving as the 28th secretary of foreign affairs since 2022. He previously served in the position in an acting role under President Rodrigo Duterte from March 9 to May 17, 2017 ...

, who had been appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary. Lagdameo took his oath of office on July 5 and was confirmed by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments (, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution. Whil ...

on August 31. He presented his credentials to

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

on September 7, 2022. On October 28, 2023, the Philippines, represented by Lagdameo, faced criticism from some groups for abstaining from a

United Nations resolution A United Nations resolution (UN resolution) is a formal text adopted by a United Nations (UN) body. Although any UN body can issue resolutions, in practice most resolutions are issued by the Security Council or the General Assembly, in the fo ...

calling for an "immediate humanitarian truce" in

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

-run

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

amid the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. Addressing the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, Lagdameo said the Philippines was concerned about the "state of civilian casualties" but had reservations about the resolution, particularly the absence of any mention or condemnation of the

2023 Hamas attack 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

that killed several Filipino workers. On May 23, 2025, Executive Secretary

Lucas Bersamin Lucas Purugganan "Luke" Bersamin (born October 18, 1949) is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who has served as the 40th executive secretary of the Philippines under President Bongbong Marcos since 2022. He previously served as the 25th chief just ...

announced that Lagdameo would retire from his post on July 31, 2025. He will be succeeded by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

Personal life

Lagdameo is married to Linda Floirendo-Lagdameo, daughter of Antonio Floirendo Sr., a close associate of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

. The couple celebrated their 50th golden wedding anniversary in November 2017. They are the parents of former congressman Anton Lagdameo, currently serving as the Special Assistant to

and a member of his

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. A horse racing enthusiast, Lagdameo, in his capacity as ambassador, shared a memorable moment from his meeting with

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during his presentation of credentials. During their initial encounter, the Queen recalled a horse race in which one of his horses had bested one of hers. The Queen displayed a sense of humor regarding the race's outcome, but also noted that

the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was also ...

, had "taken it rather hard".

References