THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should enhance cooperation among its members towards boosting the region’s minerals value chain, which is essential to the green energy transition, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Wednesday.  

“The Philippines will take bold steps to transition to renewable and alternative energy technologies in a secure and sustainable manner,” he said in his intervention during the 42^nd ASEAN Summit Plenary session, based on a press release from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO). 

“Recognizing that a cleaner energy future is anchored on the supply of critical minerals, ASEAN should now start enhancing regional cooperation towards boosting the region’s strategic industrial metals and minerals value chain,” he said. 

Exploration, project development, mining, and minerals processing are among the major stages of the minerals industry value-chain. 

The President also called for ASEAN unity in urging developed countries to fulfill their longstanding commitments to the Paris Agreement. 

The regional bloc should also demonstrate its commitment to the principles of free trade and to the multilateral trading system, he said. 

AGEING POPULATION
During his intervention, Mr. Marcos Jr. also expressed his concerns over the ageing population in the Southeast Asian region. 

“Decades of sustained economic growth and prosperity has resulted in longer lifespans in ASEAN.”  

Citing the Asian Development Bank, Mr. Marcos said one out of four people in the Asia Pacific will be over the age of 60 by the year 2050. 

“I think therefore it is time that ASEAN should start discussing the concerns of an ageing population, consistent with the ASEAN tradition of valuing our elders,” he said. 

Mr. Marcos said the issue must be viewed “in terms of adequate social benefits on the one hand and social empowerment on the other.”  

“ASEAN goals and work plans should ensure health for our elders, a safe and dignified, and productive life.” 

The 42^nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia started on May 9 and will end May 11.  

Also on Wednesday, Mr. Marcos met with Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) Prime Minister Sonexay Siphadone. 

They vowed to boost cooperation in health, education, trade, and people-to-people exchange agreements, among others, the PCO said in a separate release. 

“We have 2,000 more or less Filipino nationals who are living in Lao and working in Lao PDR and we are very proud of the contributions that they have made, especially in the educational sector,” Mr. Marcos said during his meeting with the Lao official. 

The President also cited the Philippines’ robust healthcare system that was tested during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“But also there’s much more to that; there’s also an educational aspect and I think that we have the basis in our agreements, and we can build upon that regard,” Mr. Marcos said, saying education can also be an area that the two countries can promote “now that things are beginning to open up.” 

The President also pointed out the two nations can boost professional workforce exchanges. 

During the meeting, Mr. Siphadone invited Mr. Marcos for a state visit to Lao PDR. 

In return, Mr. Marcos also extended an invitation to the Lao leader for a visit to the Philippines. 

“The two nations can start to discuss trade in terms of investment on the possibility of the Lao officials’ state visit to the Philippines,” the PCO said, citing Mr. Marcos. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday night said his government would continue lobbying for commutation or pardon for Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino overseas worker who has been on death row for more than a decade after she was arrested in 2010 for allegedly smuggling heroin into Indonesia. 

“The impasse is we continue to ask for a commutation or even a pardon or just an extradition back to the Philippines, and that is constantly there,” he told reporters in Indonesia, based on a Palace-supplied transcript. 

The Filipino overseas worker was sentenced to death in October 2010 and was granted a stay of execution in April 2015.  

Filipino lawyers have defended that Ms. Veloso, who was caught smuggling 2.6 kilos of heroin hidden in the lining of a suitcase, was a victim of human trafficking.  

Mr. Marcos claimed the government did not stop in asking the Indonesian government for Ms. Veloso’s pardon, commutation of sentence, or even extradition to serve her sentence in the Philippines. 

The Philippine foreign affairs department had asked Indonesia in September 2022 to pardon Ms. Veloso. 

“But the Indonesians answered us that this is the law. This is the law in Indonesia and we have to implement it,” he said. “And they have already given us postponement… but that doesn’t mean it’s done.” 

“We said, yes, we understand that she is convicted. We understand that the law in Indonesia is that way. But nonetheless, we might find other ways.” 

Mr. Marcos is in Indonesia for the 42^nd Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Indonesia, which started on May 9 and will end on May 11. 

Indonesia chairs the ASEAN this year. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

ALMOST half of Filipinos believe that publishing or broadcasting anything critical of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is dangerous, according to a latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. 

The survey, conducted from Dec. 10 to 14 last year, showed that 47% of adult Filipinos agree that it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the government even if it is the truth — 19% of them “strongly agree,” while 28% “somewhat agree.” 

SWS said 26% disagree, while 27% were undecided. 

“The resulting net agreement score of +20, classified by SWS as moderate, is 4 points below the moderate +24 in December 2021,” SWS said.  

Most of the respondents who agreed that it was dangerous to publish content critical of the government came from Metro Manila, followed by the Visayas, Balance Luzon, and Mindanao. 

But the number of people who said it was dangerous to publish critical things about the government fell in Metro Manila to +28 from +41 in December 2021 and in Visayas to +23 from +36. 

The pollster interviewed 1,200 adults nationwide for the non-commissioned survey.  

It said the survey was aimed “to assess respondents’ opinions on the state of press freedom in the country.” 

Earlier this month, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said human rights violations against media practitioners continue under the Marcos administration. 

The group had recorded 75 cases of violations against media workers since Mr. Marcos Jr. took office on June 30, 2022.  

The latest World Press Freedom index by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said the Philippines remained a “difficult” country for journalists despite the improvement in its 2023 scores. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza