It has been seven years since a non-political appointee held the plum post.
Gaa, who has been performing the duties of the ambassador to Washington in an acting capacity since last month, will succeed Ambassador Alberto del Rosario, who resigned last July 8 to return to the private sector.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who announced Gaa’s appointment, said he has known Gaa to be a "hardworking and competent" diplomat.
"I happen to know the guy since 15 to 20 years ago... I can vouch for Ambassador Willy Gaa. You know why? I met him when (I was going) in and out of Libya in the ’70s and ’80s. He was then a consul at the Philippine embassy, he was charge d’affaires for some time, then he became ambassador," Ermita said.
"At that time, the Libya post was considered a ‘hardship post,’ and Willy Gaa was there... What does that indicate? The guy really rose through the ranks to become the ambassador of a premier country such as the US," he added.
Ermita said that as in the military service, appointments of officers who started from the bottom were never questioned.
Filipino diplomats, he added, must be happy for Gaa as the plum post was not given this time to a political appointee.
The first career officer to be appointed to the post of ambassador to Washington was Raul Rabe, who ended his tour of duty in June 1999.
Former senator Ernesto Maceda, who was appointed by deposed President Joseph Estrada, replaced Rabe in 1999. At the height of the impeachment proceedings in December 2000, Maceda submitted his resignation. Del Rosario, an appointee of Mrs. Arroyo, replaced him in 2001.
Ermita disclosed that Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo had fought hard for another career official to get appointed to the post.
Gaa has been charge d’affaires of the embassy in Washington since July 25. Before that he was consul general to Los Angeles, California. He had also served as ambassador to China from 2003 to January 2006, ambassador to Australia from 2002 to 2003 and non-resident ambassador to Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
While he was ambassador to Libya, Gaa was also non-resident envoy to Tunisia, Malta and Niger for 1992 to 1997.
Other assignments he had held in the US include the post of consul general in New York from 1981 to 1985 and vice consul, and subsequently consul, in San Francisco from 1975 to 1980.
He was also appointed to various positions at the DFA home office whenever he would finish his tour of duty.
Gaa, who was born in Romblon, is an alumnus of Manuel L. Quezon University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, the University of the Philippines where he received his bachelor of laws and New York University (International Legal Studies) where he obtained his master of laws degree. He joined the foreign service in 1973.
For his "long and dedicated service to the government and country," Gaa was presented with the Gawad Sentenaryo (Centennial Award) in 1999 by the National Centennial
Commission and the Distinguished Service Award in 2000 by the DFA. — Aurea Calica, Pia Lee-Brago