Palace declares August of every year as ‘Asean Month’

ASEAN COLORS A giant lantern, placed at the foreground of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and its fountain, is lit in the Asean colors as the Asean celebrates its 50th anniversary, and the Philippines is playing host. LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer FILE PHOTO

Malacañang has declared August of every year as a month dedicated to commemorate the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No. 282 on July 31 in order to “promote and heighten the awareness of the Asean” and to emphasize the importance of Asean’s role in “achieving and maintaining regional peace and sustainable development.”

The proclamation amended the 1997 Proclamation No. 1008 to declare that the August of every year would be known as “Asean Month” and the dates ‪August 7 to 13 would be known as the “Asean Week.”

All government agencies, particularly the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Commission on Higher Education CHED), are mandated to initiate and implement programs that would “generate awareness and public support in promoting the observance of the Asean Month.”

The Palace declaration also cited the Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 07, which earlier directed all government agencies to support and participate in the Philippines’ hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit 2017.

READ: Palace tells gov’t agencies to support PH Asean hosting

The Philippines is one of the Asean founding and active members and the country’s chairmanship also coincides with the group’s 50th founding anniversary. Kim Airei Guanga, INQUIRER.net trainee / JPV