Philippine Defence Attache office opens 21 Feb 2021 Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn M. Quintana and Defence Attache to the UAE Col. Cesar Fernandez inaugurate the Office of the Philippine Defence and Armed Forces Attache. Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter The Office of the Philippine Defence and Armed Forces Attache (OPHILDAFA) in the UAE, the first in the Gulf and the second in the whole of Middle East, was inaugurated on Sunday at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn M Quintana with Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Colonel Cesar Fernandez who assumed his post as defence attache on Dec.24, 2020, led the inaugural rites and ribbon cutting ceremonies.