IN the midst of recent developments in America, Russia and China in relation to the country’s economy, it would be interesting to witness how the Asean Summit would unfold this year. The Philippines holds the chairmanship for 2017. Former Ambassador and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Lauro Baja Jr. said the chairmanship is an opportunity for the Philippines to highlight its own issues, including the war on drugs, terrorism and the South China Sea dispute. The latter is a growing concern among Asean leaders, as they have been calling for a peaceful resolution to the disputes.
The 2017 summit also marks Asean’s 50th founding anniversary. As one of the five founding members, the Philippines helped give birth to Asean, together with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The theme this year is “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World”. For Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay Jr., the Asean Summit is an “opportunity to further strengthen ties within the region.”
Aside from delegates from the member-nations, leaders from the US, China and Japan are also expected to attend the summit. The country is spending around P15.4 billion for Asean-related activities. This amount will be distributed to five agencies: the Office of the President; the departments of Tourism, the Interior and Local Government, Trade; and the Presidential Communications Office.
Apart from hosting the summit itself, the country will also be staging events to celebrate the organization’s anniversary. The Office of the Asean Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs said there are more than 100 Asean meetings to be held nationwide, including Metro Manila, Laoag, Pampanga, Legazpi, Palawan, Boracay, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro and Davao. Two are leaders-level summits, plus 15 ministerial meetings, 31 senior officials meetings and more than 60 working-group meetings.
It is important that Filipinos understand the relevance of Asean in their lives so they can respond to the call of the President to “partner with the government during this year’s chairmanship.” He had said that “Now more than ever, it is our spirit of bayanihan that helps define us as a responsible leader of our region during this crucial time.” Proper information dissemination through the right channels, especially through social media, is crucial so that more Filipinos will understand the relevance of the summit and get to see the impact that it has on their lives. There is a need to raise the level of awareness among the sectors of society on the benefits of a united Asean. Thus, the importance of using social media for wider information dissemination.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that a lot of Filipinos know close to nothing about the Asean. The information campaign needs to be given priority so that ordinary citizens may be turned into stakeholders. Apart from that, economic policies and decisions will be made that will affect their business and employment in a very real way. It is only proper that people are informed about what is going on in the region as far as economic, political and sociocultural changes are concerned.
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Today we also remember former President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III, the country’s 15th president, who is celebrating his birthday on February 8. The country is grateful for the service and leadership of President Noynoy and we wish him good health and happiness for the years to come.