There are now three candidates in the race including José Graça-Aranha from Brazil.
Maria Teresa Lepatan, a minister from the Permanent Mission of the Philippines in Geneva confirmed to Managing IP today that the Philippines government has nominated Manalo and had sent in the official application to WIPO last week.
Manalo has been the foreign affairs undersecretary for policy since July 2007. Prior to that he was the permanent representative of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations in Geneva, a post that he held for four years.
He was also the first Asian to be elected as Chairman of the General Assembly (2005-07) of WIPO and was succeeded by Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi from Nigeria.
Nilly Kanana from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya in Geneva told Managing IP that the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) managing director James Otieno Odek is Kenya's candidate. His name was decided on December 11 last year, but to due the political crisis in the country, the official application was sent to WIPO only today.
Otieno-Odek, 44, has been the managing director of the KIPI since 2004 and has chaired various committees and groups at WIPO since 2004.
He is at present the chairman of the Madrid Union and the Berne Executive. He is also an associate professor of public law at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
Otieno-Odek received a doctorate of Judicial Sciences from the University of Toronto (1991-95) and completed an LLM at Yale University (1988-89).
This week WIPO member states are holding meetings to discuss the possibility of holding a special General Assembly in the next few months as the 08/09 budget has yet to be approved and a few other pending issues remain from last year's General Assemblies.
Managing IP has learnt that at least two more candidates are likely to be nominated to fill the post of director general, which will become vacant when Kamil Idris steps down in Septmber. Their nominations are expected to be received within the next two weeks.
On January 10 this year, the Brazilian government nominated José Graça-Aranha, the director of WIPO's International Registrations Department, as its candidate for the post.
Graça-Aranha joined the Organization in 1993 where he worked in the Development Cooperation and External Relations Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. In May 1998 he was transferred to the International Registrations Department.
Member states have until 5pm on February 13 to nominate other candidates for the position.
