President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday raised the need for the speedy implementation of the Five Point Consensus peace plan to address the deepening crisis in Myanmar.

The President made this remark in an intervention speech at the 41st ASEAN Summit Retreat, where he called on his fellow ASEAN leaders to heed the call for the welfare and protection of the people of Myanmar.

“The Philippines thus reiterates the need for the speedy implementation of the Five Point Consensus, which Myanmar agreed to in the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting held in Jakarta in April 2021,” Marcos pointed out.

The peace plan sought to call for an urgent end to violence as well as step up dialogues between the military and the opposition movement.

“While the Philippines adheres to the ASEAN principles of non-interference and consensus, the protracted suffering of the people in Myanmar, in part due to the lack of progress in the implementation of the Five Point Consensus, also challenges the ASEAN-honored principles of democracy and the respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the ASEAN Charter,” said the President Marcos said direct engagement with the government and all stakeholders is vital to ending violence and addressing the crisis in Myanmar.

“This would include direct engagement with the military administration, but also with all other stakeholders, including the political opposition within the ASEAN framework towards the full implementation of the Five Point Consensus,” the President pointed out.

Marcos encouraged other ASEAN leaders to continue taking a constructive approach in engaging the stakeholders in Myanmar consistent with their shared vision of an ASEAN, which is people-centered and people-oriented.

In the meeting, the President also raised multiple issues affecting the Southeast Asian region, such as post-pandemic recovery, the China-Taiwan cross-strait relations, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which he said, needed concerted efforts to overcome. #