DSWD chief to head RP delegation in ASEAN meet

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Soliman will head the Philippine delegation to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Vietnam from August 13 to 16. The DSWD websit said the theme of the 4th ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council (ASCC) Meeting is: “Towards the ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action." Organized twice a year, this year’s ASCC chairperson is Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Vietnamese Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. The issues to be discussed during the ASEAN meet include: pandemic diseases, climate change and disaster management, developing human resources for economic recovery, creating social welfare for women and children, and building cultural identity. The conference participants will also consider adopting two documents, the “ASEAN Declaration on human resource development and skills for economic recovery," and the “Declaration on welfare and development for women and children." These documents will be approved by the Asian leaders during the ASEAN Summit in October. RP social welfare programs The Philippine delegation will present updates on the implementation of the country’s social welfare programs. “Our active participation in this regional gathering will enable us to learn from our Asean neighbors, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Laos-PDR and Myanmar, specifically on how they implement their social welfare programs," Soliman said. “Likewise, it is an ideal venue to inform our ASEAN partners about the efforts of the Philippines in improving the quality of life of the sectors that we serve, such as disadvantaged women and children. A confab such as this promotes mutual learning and open doors for further collaboration," she added. Members of the Philippine delegation include DSWD Undersecretary Alicia Bala, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA). –VVP, GMANews.TV