Ms. Ma. Teresita C. Daza is a senior career diplomat who served in various capacities in the home office and foreign service posts of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

In the home office, she was assigned in the Office of ASEAN Affairs as Executive Director, Office of the Secretary as Special Assistant, and at the Office of Protocol and State Visits as Director.

In the foreign service, she was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi, India, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Kingdom of Nepal and oversight jurisdiction over the Kingdom of Bhutan. She also served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the Philippine Permanent Mission in Jakarta, Indonesia, First Secretary and Consul General at the Philippine Embassy in Bucharest, Romania and Third Secretary and later Second at the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Her last posting was as Ambassador at the Philippine Embassy in Santiago, Chile with concurrent jurisdiction over Peru and Ecuador from 2019 to 2021. She was awarded the Medalla al Merito de Chile, Grado Gran Cruz, the highest distinction granted by the Chilean Government to foreign nationals, for her efforts in promoting Philippines – Chile relations including the successful commemoration of the 75^th Anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

She is currently the DFA Spokesperson and former Director-General of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). She was once the Chief Foreign Affairs Research Specialist of FSI’s Research and Public Information unit.