his visit to the U.S. and Mexico in May 1997 and to APEC Canada in November 1997; Aquino III during his visits to China, Japan and New Zealand; and Duterte during his official visit to Japan. In 2007, he was elected president of the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) and in 2010, he was elected board chairman. He is currently MOPC's vice chairman. Romualdez also held various positions including being vice president of the Rotary Club of Manila, executive vice president of the Philippine Trade Foundation, and chairman of the Philippine offices of several US-based multinational firms, including FCB Manila and Weber Shandwick Philippines. From January 2016 to September 2017, he was the honorary consul of Luxembourg to the Philippines. He was the President and CEO of Stargate Media Corp., an affiliate of the Philippine Star and the publishing company of PEOPLE Asia magazine, where Romualdez was the publisher. He is also a columnist at the Philippine Star. Ambassador to the United States From July to December 2016, Romualdez was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as his Special Envoy to the United States. In December 2016, he was asked by President Duterte to be the Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States. However, he declined the offer saying he could not assume the post for at least six months since he was to have an emergency operation for an eye ailment in January. His appointment as special envoy was later renewed on July 9, 2017. On July 24, 2017, Romualdez was finally nominated by the President to be the Philippines' Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America. He was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on August 23, 2017, and took his oath on August 29. He presented his credentials to United States President Donald Trump on November 29. He is the third member of the Romualdez family to occupy the post after his uncles Eduardo Romualdez and Benjamin Romualdez, the sister of former First Lady Imelda Marcos served from 1971 to 1986. In May 2018, Ambassador Romualdez and the Philippine Embassy were criticized for choosing to celebrate their Independence Day celebrations at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Despite the criticisms, however, the 120th Philippine Independence Day celebration still went through with the embassy defending their choice of venue by calling it "elegant and historic" for the occasion. As ambassador, Romualdez facilitated the return