(Angeles City, Pampanga) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) led the launching of the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Pillar on Tuesday, January 24 at Marquee Mall in Angeles City, Pampanga.
DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo led the launch of the event with the theme “Malasakit at Paglingap.”
“Pinili natin ang Pampanga upang idaos ang paglulunsad ng ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Pillar sapagkat gusto natin ilapit ang ASEAN sa tao. Sabi nga ni Presidente Duterte ang kanyang pamamahala ay gikan sa masa, para sa masa,” Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary said.
“Napakahalaga ng ASEAN lalo na tayo ang host ngayon sa kaniyang ginintuang anibersaryo para maintindihan ito at mayakap ito ng mamamayan,” Taguiwalo added, whose department, the DSWD, chaired the ASCC.
The ASEAN envisions a community that encompasses all facets of life, as reflected by its political-security, economic, and socio-cultural pillars.
The socio-cultural pillar seeks to build a caring and sharing society that is inclusive.
“Ang socio-cultural, tayo ang nagbibigay ng kulay, ng musika, ng himig, at ng malasakit sa buong ASEAN. We basically represent the social services of the government, the cultural arm of the government, and the vulnerable sectors of our communities,” the DSWD chief clarified, while calling on sectors to advocate a people-oriented and people-centered ASEAN.
Towards a people-oriented and peace-centered ASEAN
To achieve a people-oriented and people-centered ASEAN, which is actually the first thematic priority of the Philippines’ ASEAN 2017 Chairmanship, the country intends to do the following:
1. Ensure promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers by pushing for policies that will protect them across ASEAN nations.
2. Ensure protection and promotion of the rights of vulnerable sectors, the women, children, persons with disability, older persons, internally displaced persons, indigenous peoples, among others.
3. Further promote appreciation of cultural heritage and strengthening of the ASEAN cultural identity.
4. Intensify access to healthcare and improve nutrition
5. Promote the role of the civil service as catalyst in achieving the vision ASEAN 2025.
6. Strengthen ASEAN’s resilience against natural calamities and human-induced disasters.
Taguiwalo, likewise, underscored the significance brought about by the ASEAN, like visa-free travel to ASEAN countries, regional disaster coordination, among others.
“The ASEAN is significant, the ASEAN is important. It will bring about changes to our lives. It will advance the interest of the people especially the marginalized and the vulnerable,” Taguiwalo concluded.
Aside from the DSWD, the ASCC is also composed of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as co-chair, National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), National Youth Commission (NYC), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), Department of Health (DOH), National Nutrition Council (NNC), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Civil Service Commission (CSC), Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and attached agencies.###Maro-Content
