29 August 2014 - The Philippines supported both greater cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and a whole-of-society approach at the national level in addressing biological threats during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Cross-Sectoral Security Cooperation on Bio-Preparedness and Disaster Response Workshop which was held from August 26 to 28 in Manila.
“The response to a biological event must involve everyone, not just governments. When pandemics or biological attacks are at our doorstep, an effective response will rely on a responsible and informed citizenry,” said Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Luis T. Cruz during his closing remarks at the Workshop.
The Workshop, co-chaired by the Philippines and the United States, brought together 150 practitioners in public health, defense, law enforcement, and disaster preparedness planning from ARF member countries to discuss prospects for a regional response to pandemics and bio-terrorism attacks.
The Workshop produced a draft template for national guidelines on bio-preparedness, which participants tested in a simulation exercise involving the global spread of an unknown virus. The template is intended to aid members in the crafting or improvement of their own national bio-preparedness plans, and will also be offered for use in future disaster preparedness planning exercises of the ARF.
Representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), and Manila-based European Union Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Center of Excellence (EU CBRN CoE) Regional Secretariat in Southeast Asia were also on hand to discuss their relevant work during the workshop.
The ASEAN Regional Forum brings together 27 members from the Asia-Pacific region for multilateral dialogue on security issues of common concern. The Philippines has co-chaired annual bio-preparedness workshops with the US since 2009, in support of the counter-terrorism and transnational crime (CTTC) and non-proliferation and disarmament (NPD) priority areas of the ARF. END