MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has started accepting applications for the Foreign Service Officer Examinations (FSOE) in 2025.
Application forms can be downloaded from its website at https://dfa.gov.ph/fsoexams and must be submitted in any of the DFA consular offices within and outside Metro Manila as well as Philippine embassies, consulates, or missions abroad on or before Oct. 30, 2024.
The exam consists of four stages, the qualifying test, the written test, the psychological test and the oral test.
The DFA Board of Foreign Service Examinations (BFSE) will hold the qualifying test on Jan. 26, 2025.
Applicants must be a Filipino citizen, a graduate of a four-year bachelor’s degree course, and possesses at least two years of employment or finished further studies, after graduating from college or university.
Applicants for the examination must be knowledgeable in the economic, political, and social conditions of the Philippines, and must possess facility in oral and written communications.
They must also be willing and able to accept assignments to any foreign service post of the Philippines abroad.
The duties of an FSO include gathering information, analyzing and reporting on political, economic, technological, cultural and other events and developments; and drafting diplomatic notes and other forms of diplomatic correspondence.
It also covers preparing briefing papers and other foreign policy papers for the DFA and other government agencies as may be required; assisting in the preparation and conduct of international conferences; undertaking negotiations; assisting Filipinos abroad and protecting their rights; facilitating the flow of trade, foreign investments, and tourism to the Philippines; and performing consular functions, among others. (PNA)
