THE appointment of new Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain, Corazon Yap-Bahjin, was confirmed yesterday following her meeting with the country's Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo in Manila.

She is one of nine new Philippine envoys and succeeds former ambassador Eduardo Pablo Maglaya, who left Bahrain in March.

Her appointment has been officially approved by the Philippines' Commission on Appointments, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

She graduated from the University of Santo Tomas, majoring in English and Theology, and also holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines.

According to the Manila Times, Ms Yap-Bahjin was a teacher before becoming a diplomat, teaching at the Holy Trinity College, in Palawan, Centro Escolar University, in Manila, and Palawan State University, where she eventually became assistant professor.

Her diplomatic career started with a post at the Cultural Division of the Office of Islamic Affairs (now the Office on Muslim Affairs) in 1982. Her first foreign posting was as vice-consul in Jeddah in 1986, but she returned to Manila in 1998 to become director at the Office of Middle East and African Affairs.

In 1990, she served as second secretary and consul in Amman, Jordan, before moving to Cairo in 1991, where she became chargŽ d'affaires.

Reports say she also served in Bangkok and Beijing, becoming the first Muslim woman to be appointed ambassador in 2007 and later Foreign Affairs Under-Secretary.