The Philippine Embassy in Doha is pleased to announce the assumption of duty of Mr. Cotawato M. Arimao as Head of the Assistance to Nationals Section on 17 June 2015. Mr. Arimao started his career with the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1977 and before being assigned as Consular Assistant at the Philippine Embassy in Tehran, Iran from 1987 to 1994. He was also assigned as Consular Assistant and Administrative Officer at the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq from 1996 to 2003. In 2002, he was designated as Officer-in-Charge at the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad by then Secretary of Foreign Affairs Blas F. Ople during the US-Iraq Standoff. From December 2002 to April 2003, Mr. Arimao served as Consular Assistant at the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His last posting was as Administrative Officer at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from December 2006 to December 2012.

Mr. Arimao is the recipient of several awards/citations including the Gawad Mabini, with the Rank of Kasugo, which was given to him by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for his heroic commitment to his duty of protecting Philippine interests and steadfast efforts in assisting in the repatriation and relocation of Filipinos in Iraq before, during and after the 2003 US-led war in Iraq, as well as for his courage by being the last Embassy personnel to leave Baghdad and the first to return after the end of hostilities in 2003. He was also awarded as DFA Outstanding Employee in 1996, 1998 and 2014.

Mr. Arimao graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering at the Manuel L. Quezon University, Manila in 1985 and passed the Civil Engineering Board Examination in the same year. He is married to Scheherazade U. Arimao with five (5) children.