VERA Files
A key feature of the document is to afford mechanisms for ASEAN migrants such as labor contracts and legal representation.
“A piece of paper is not enforceable if parties do not honor their promises” – Lorenzana
Increasing local government engagement is one of the goals of the ASEAN integration, specifically in the BIMP-EAGA. But local governments outside of the key areas are not directly engaged.
As the Philippine government gears up to host the next ASEAN Summit in November, Carmen Verona is also bracing herself, but for something quite different: the possibility of getting evicted from where she sets up her makeshift store.
DENR is batting for greater protection for whale sharks and four other migratory birds and fishes, through measures seeking to guard them against unsustainable tourism practices, among others.
Engage people more.
“There are now very strong moves for members of ASEAN to get out of so called ASEAN way” – FVR
ASEAN is missing out on achieving real economic integration if it does not recognize and allow more labor mobility – including for unskilled ones that make up the most of its migrants.
The Philippines’ chairing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the regional organization’s 50th anniversary received a rude shock when Malaysia dissociated itself from a statement on the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, issued by Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.
The meeting is a simulation. Yet, it has already taught the participants one important lesson: the idea of consensus, and how difficult it can be to reach, in the trademark decision-making process of ASEAN.