PH Government Agencies and Academe Encouraged to Actively Implement ASEAN Leaders’ Declarations Through ASEAN Projects

Participants to the ASEAN Project Development Training for the Philippines with the resource speakers and facilitators. (Seated from left to right: ASEAN Secretariat Programme Cooperation and Project Management Division (ASEC-PCPMD) Ms. Astri Fajarwati, ASEC-PCPMD Mr. Joel Atienza, ASEC Finance and Budget Division Ms. Heny Suwardi, PHL Permanent Representative to ASEAN in Jakarta Amb. Elizabeth P. Buensuceso, DFA - Office of ASEAN Affairs Assistant Secretary Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega, DFA – Office of ASEAN Affairs Director Dinno M. Oblena, and ASEC-PCPMD Head Ms. Dameria Rimta Silangit)

MANILA 11 May 2018 – Representatives from Philippine government agencies and the academe were encouraged to actively implement the ASEAN Leaders’ Declarations and other documents through the development of ASEAN projects during the “ASEAN Project Development Training Program for the Philippines” held at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila on 08-09 May 2018.

The two-day training program was organized by the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines (FSI-DFA), in coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat, the Office of ASEAN Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Philippine Permanent Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta. Attended by 60 representatives from government agencies and the academe, the training comprised of lectures, discussions, and group exercises. Resource speakers from the ASEAN Secretariat and the Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN Elizabeth P. Buensuceso discussed the process of formulating quality project proposals, cooperation with ASEAN’s external partners, implementation and monitoring of projects, and reporting requirements for completed projects.

Office of ASEAN Affairs Assistant Secretary Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega, who also serves as the Director-General of the ASEAN-Philippines National Secretariat, highlighted the need to develop more project proposals that will serve as follow-up activities to key initiatives during the Philippines’ Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2017, which include, among others, the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers and the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Ending All Forms of Malnutrition. She also encouraged everyone to use the opportunity to understand and clarify the procedures on ASEAN-initiated projects.

For her part, Ambassador Buensuceso emphasized the significance of translating the vision of ASEAN Leaders to practical, bankable projects and activities with the objective of bringing the benefits of ASEAN’s work closer to the people.

Participants with ready project proposals were also given the opportunity to consult representatives from the ASEAN-ROK Programme Management Team at a clinic held immediately after the training.

The training programme, funded by the ASEAN Secretariat, is programmed to be conducted in all ten ASEAN Member States in 2017 and 2018. END