Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte named a new acting foreign minister on Thursday, a day after lawmakers rejected the appointment Perfecto Yasay over his long-held US citizenship.

Duterte named Foreign Undersecretary Enrique Manalo, an experienced career diplomat, according to media reports.

Manalo previously served as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Belgium, and was the Philippines' Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, as well as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York.

On Wednesday, the Philippine Commission on Appointments rejected Yasay, who had been acting foreign minister since Duterte took office last June, as foreign minister. It cited "compelling issues" about his qualifications and his failure to prove he was not a US citizen following a confirmation hearing.

In the Philippines, confirmation hearings can take place long after ministers start work.

Numerous allegations had been made against Yasay but the main point had been whether he was a US citizen at the time of his appointment on June 30 last year.

The US-educated lawyer, who is also a former classmate of the president, denied this, saying he was granted US citizenship in the 1980s but was disqualified because he had acquired it with a prior intent to renounce it and return to live in the Philippines.

US records suggested however that Yasay only gave up his citizenship after becoming foreign minister: the US Federal Register last month published names of individuals who had lost citizenship, whose information had been received "during the final quarter" of 2016, and Yasay’s name was on the list.

On Wednesday, he apologised to lawmakers and said he had not sought to deceive them.

"I did not lie. I may not have fully disclosed what was required,” he said. "You get nervous. You somehow come up with answers that you do not intend, and I apologise for that."

(With inputs from Reuters, AP, Xinhua)