PHL envoy: Pinoys need to be more aware of how ASEAN affects their daily lives

Amid apprehension in the ASEAN region due to territorial disputes and other security concerns, Philippine Ambassador to the ASEAN Elizabeth Buensuceso said Filipinos need to be better informed about the advantages of residing in an ASEAN member-country.

In an email to GMA News Online, Buensuceso said in other countries like Indonesia and Thailand, “even taxi drivers are aware of what the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community) is and how their lives will be affected by it.”

According to her, the governments of other countries and their chambers of commerce allot “a good deal of money” to help ordinary people understand what the ASEAN has to offer.

Lasy December 13 to 14, Philippine President Benigno Aquino attended the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit, where various regional issues, including the country’s dispute with China involving the West Philippine Sea, were discussed.

ASEAN members urged that disputes be resolved peacefully, amid concerns about Chinese military assertiveness that have raised regional tensions.

The 10 member-nations of the ASEAN include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Territorial disputes

The Philippines is locked in a long-running territorial rift with China over parts of the South China Sea, where Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

Buensuceso said, “To this day, I am glad that the diplomats and not the militaries of the nations involved in the disputes, still have hold the key to the solutions of these conflicting claims.”

“The Philippines cannot afford to have the resolution of these disputes, otherwise. The most diplomatic way, is therefore, to continue using all means of diplomacy to achieve a peaceful settlement of these disputes,” she said.

Earlier this month, at a gathering of United States executives in Beijing, US Vice President Joe Biden said “China's recent and sudden announcement of the establishment of a new air defense identification zone has, to state the obvious, caused significant apprehension in the region.”

Beijing's declaration of an ADIZ in an area that includes disputed islands with Japan triggered protests from the US, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea.

Despite these issues, Buensuceso insisted that “ASEAN does not have many problems and is proceeding in one accord toward its vision of achieving an ASEAN Community by 2015 and even beyond.”

“The 10 member countries have come to realize that only in being one would they able to achieve this dream,” Buensuceso said, adding, “we are all focused towards a common goal. Even the seeming sibling rivalries among the the members are a good sign of a friendly competition but with a similar result.”

Pinoy communities

Buensuceso said, “In each of the ASEAN member countries, you will find a sizeable  Filipino community composed of teachers of English, engineers, accountants, hotel and corporate managers, bankers, office workers and the like.”

“Under the ASEAN Economic Community, our experts are working on the free movement of skilled workers and Mutual Recognition Agreements that will enable our professionals to have their diplomas or transcripts of records be recognized in other ASEAN members,” she explained.

Buensuceso said Filipinos “should not be cowering in fear” when they choose to work in an ASEAN country.

Buensuceso recalled that when she was Ambassador in Laos from 2004-2008, “around 300 Filipinos were running the hydro-power plant there. In Indonesia, around 10,000 Filipinos are the pride of the Filipino community in professional fields.”

“May bentahe ang mga Pilipino sa mga propesyong aking nabanggit.  Kaya ang layunin natin ay magkaroon ng malayang movement ang mga nais maghanap ng trabaho sa iba ibang bansa ng ASEAN,” she added.

ASEAN 2015

Meanwhile, Buensuceso recalled that during the Hua Hin ASEAN Summit in 2009, “the leaders of ASEAN agreed to move towards an ASEAN Community by 2015.”

Several blueprints were issued to achieve the 2015 goal:

(1)    the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint – aims for regional economic integration by 2015 through a single market and production base and equitable economic development, among others;

(2)    ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Blueprint – the APSC aims to ensure that countries in the region live at peace with one another and that peaceful processes are sought in the settlement of intra-regional differences, and

(3)    the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint – this aims to foster solidarity and unity among people in the ASEAN; it focuses on nurturing the ASEAN’s human, cultural and natural resources.

Based on these objectives, Buensuceso said she enjoins “our partners in the government, private sector, academia and civil society to be more pro-active in submitting project proposals for funding by ASEAN and its dialogue partners.”

“There s plenty of funding for these projects and yet, there is a dearth of submissions from the Philippine side,” she noted.

She mentioned that the Office of ASEAN Affairs, located at the Department of Foreign Affairs, has conducted workshops on project development.

“There is a standard criteria and template  for project submissions. I have also distributed to various agencies, the many sources of funding and how to avail of them,” she said, adding “there are also a great number of scholarships that  range from a few weeks to complete masteral or PHD degrees.”

Those interested may either contact the ASEAN Mission or ASEAN-Philippines for details.

Some problems of the PHL Mission

“I want the Philippines to be pro-active in all the areas of ASEAN cooperation,” Buensuceso said.

However, she noted some of the factors that hinder the Philippines from benefiting fully from being an ASEAN member, such as the Philippine Mission’s lack of staff.

“The ideal staffing pattern (ISP) of the Philippine Mission is one (ambassador) plus seven officers. I have only four officers. This limits my capability to reach out to our sectors to help them maximize benefits from Philippine participation in these ASEAN bodies. Still, I must emphasize that I have very capable and motivated officers; they are able to do multitasking responsibilities,” she explained.

She said the lack of sufficient personnel and financial resources greatly affects their work which “entails coordination, monitoring and assisting around 100 sectoral that carry out the technical aspects of our cooperation.

“This would cover a wide ranging array of areas from migrant workers to education, arts , ICT, sciences, from environmental cooperation to human rights and peace and reconciliation, from
defense cooperation to the fight against terrorism, cybercrime and the like,” she said.

She also noticed the difficulty in obtaining funds to host ASEAN meetings in the Philippines.

“If we are to project ourselves in ASEAN and the rest of the world, we should be hosting more ASEAN meetings. This will boost our tourism efforts in actual terms and improve our image as a fun tourist destination and a giant among our ASEAN peers,” she said.

She cited the case of Indonesia. “They project themselves in the world by hosting all kinds of meetings. This way, they gain visibility from investors, tourists, traders, and students, who all flock to Indonesia because of this projection,” she said.

Over 30 years in foreign service

Buensuceso, 58, holds masteral degrees in English and Asian Studies and has been with the DFA for over 33 years.

A former Philippine Ambassador to Norway, Denmark and Iceland, and to the Lao PDR, she speaks several languages and dialects aside from English and Filipino” French, Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish , Ibanag, Kapampangan, and Ilocano

Her other postings include: Beijing (Deputy Chief of Mission), Brussels (Charge d’affaires , a.i. and then DCM), Singapore, and Hong Kong.

As ambassador to the ASEAN, she considers as one of her biggest achievements the “ability to make ASEAN function as a people-centered organization.”

“Ang ASEAN ay isang higanteng komunidad kung saan ang pamilyang Pilipino ay namumuhay. Nagtatag na ang mga lider ng komunidad na ito ng mga alituntunin, kautusan, adhikain at mga pangarap na ang komunidad na ito ay magiging matatag, nagkakaisa, sama samang nagtatamasa ng kasaganaan hindi lamang nga iilan kundi lalong lalo na sa mga mahihirap at disadvantaged and vulnerable, ng katahimikan ng loob at pagsusulong sa human development.” — KBK, GMA News