ASEAN brings peace, stability amid Mindanao conflict

• Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1951499258665/asean-brings-peace-stability-amid-mindanao-conflict
• Wednesday, July 5, 2017

By Jose Mari M. Garcia (CLJD/JMMG-PIA 3)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, July 5 (PIA) -- One of the ways to protect our families against terrorism, amid the ongoing tension in Mindanao, is to know more about the benefits of ASEAN.

Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, Chair of the Regional Development Council and President of the League of Cities of the Philippines, focused on this key message as the Philippines hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits this year that coincide with the bloc’s 50th anniversary.

“Kailangan natin ngayong malaman ang buod ng ASEAN, lalo na ngayon na nagkakaroon ng problema sa Mindanao (We need to know now the essence of ASEAN, especially now when we are facing problem in Mindanao),” Pamintuan said.

Pamintuan joined hundreds of government employees, students and sector representatives in the first ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Forum in the region organized by Philippine Information Agency (PIA) last June 28 at SM City Pampanga.

“Everybody should now form a mindset of supporting ASEAN integration,” he said.

As Philippines confronts maritime issues in the west and armed conflict in the south, ASEAN aims to ensure that countries in the region live at peace with one another and with the world in a just, democratic, and harmonious environment.

This vision of peace is espoused in the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Pillar, according to PIA-National Capital Region Assistant Regional Director Emver Cortez.

“Peace and stability in the region, maritime security and cooperation, and model of regionalism and a global player are the top three priorities of the [APSC] Pillar,” Cortez said.

The other two pillars of ASEAN that benefit Filipinos are the Economic Community (AEC), and the Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).

For Agnes Perpetua Legaspi, Assistant Director of Export Marketing Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry, the AEC Pillar accentuates that competitiveness among Filipino entrepreneurs and local governments is key for Philippine businesses to go global.

“We want to work with other trade partners so working with them, doing businesses with them, we can conquer the rest of the world,” Legaspi said.

The ASCC aims to achieve a regional community that is people-oriented and socially responsible, a task greatly amplified through benefits in education.

According to Gemma Gabuya, Regional Director of Department of Social Welfare and Development, the state-sponsored education vouchers given to students are part of the ASEAN benefits.

The Multi-Sectoral Forum also featured an Information and Service Caravan where citizens got immediate support, consultation and free items from participating government agencies.

“I think ASEAN can really help me as a person because, after all, ASEAN is one vision and community. It shows how much ASEAN can help each (member),” Fresh Aira Sison, student of International Studies, said.

Aside from forums, PIA has been staging campus tours in colleges and universities, and information kiosks in public areas all over Central Luzon.

“We are doing this campaign, not only because we chair this year’s ASEAN, but also because we want to raise public awareness about ASEAN. We want the people to know the fullness of ASEAN,” PIA Regional Director William Beltran said.