DFA to mark 50th founding anniversary of ASEAN Monday

July 28, 2017

The  Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN on July 31 at the Bulwagang Apolinario Mabini, DFA Building in Roxas Blvd. . In a statement Friday, it said the activity will be conducted during the regular Monday national flag-raising ceremony of the Department, which will be held as an ASEAN flag-raising ceremony. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano will lead the celebration which will also feature a parade of flags of the 10 ASEAN Member States, singing of the ASEAN Anthem and the Philippine ASEAN Chairmanship Song, and cultural performances from singing duo “The Nightingales.” Civil Service Commission Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala will be the special guest.  She will talk about the “ASEAN Declaration on the Role of the Civil Service as a Catalyst for Achieving the ASEAN Community Vision 2025,” which was signed by the ASEAN Leaders during the 30th ASEAN Summit on April 29 2017 in Manila. The Declaration recognizes the importance of civil service as the backbone of good governance within ASEAN Member States, and as such, aims to raise the professional standards and capability of civil servants in different sectors to ensure that civil servants can deliver services that would benefit the peoples of the region. The golden anniversary of ASEAN coincides with the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship this year. With the theme “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World,” the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship focuses on six thematic priorities, namely,  a people-oriented, people-centered ASEAN; peace and stability in the region; maritime security and cooperation;  inclusive, innovation-led growth; ASEAN resiliency; and ASEAN as a model of regionalism and a global player. ASEAN was established on  August 8 1967 through the signing of the Bangkok Declaration by the five founding fathers of ASEAN, namely former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, and former Foreign Ministers Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso Ramos of the Philippines, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand. DMS