Duterte urges ASEAN to recalibrate plans for COVID-19 response

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to recalibrate its COVID-19 response plan by taking into consideration the lessons learned from battling the pandemic.

According to Malacañang, Duterte told leaders of the 10-nation bloc via videoconference to accelerate the promotion of regional connectivity and sustainable supply chains, human resource development ,and migrant workers’ rights.

Duterte also urged the region to strengthen its capacity to address future infectious diseases outbreaks through research and capacity-building on health technology development. He also welcomed the establishment of the ASEAN Response Fund for COVID-19.

The President added that terrorism, transnational crimes, and natural calamities could undermine the security and development of ASEAN, one of the world’s fastest-growing and most dynamic regions before the pandemic hit early this year.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the ASEAN leaders had a consensus on pushing for vaccine development. He said the leaders agreed that all countries should be given access to the vaccines once they become available.

Roque also said there were proposals to open ASEAN for business travelers subject to health protocols.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause disruptions worldwide with far-reaching consequences. To survive, we need to make fundamental and systemic changes. And only a cohesive and responsive ASEAN can help us all safely navigate out of this perfect storm of a crisis,” Duterte said.

“This pandemic has taught us that we must choose to be nature’s stewards, not its abusers. Lockdowns have also forced us to take full advantage of technology and innovation. The adoption of e-commerce, e-learning, videoconferencing, and artificial intelligence have all been accelerated by the crisis.”

The Palace said the leaders instructed ministers to craft a comprehensive recovery plan – “one that will, hopefully, be innovative and ambitious, leading to a greener and sustainable future.”

Twelve outcome documents were adopted during the summit including the ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN, ASEAN Declaration on Human Resource Development for the Changing World of Work, Work Plan of the ASEAN Plan of Action to Prevent and Counter the Rise of Radicalization and Violent Extremism 2019- 2025, and the Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Technical and Vocational Training Council.

Duterte was joined in the meeting by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, and Roque.

Chaired by Vietnam, the 36th ASEAN Summit was the first regular meeting of the regional bloc that was held via videoconference in light of the constraints posed by the pandemic.—AOL, GMA News