August 8 is officially designated as ASEAN Day; the day the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established with the ASEAN Declaration signed by the founding five – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. And last August 8, 2015, CCYD commemorated the founding of ASEAN with an in-depth discussion on the region’s issues, challenges, and opportunities through the perspective of the 3 pillars of the ASEAN Community – Political-Security, Economic, and Socio-cultural. The Caucus for Focus on ASEAN welcomed 3 speakers, all of them alumni of Political Science – International Relations and Foreign Service, whose thesis works revolve around each pillar of ASEAN.

 

On the issues on Political-Security, Mr. Louie Villanueva, former CCYD Prime Minister, discussed the major flaws of ASEAN in the agenda on collective security. According to him, the region cannot fully function the same way as the European Union (EU) in a political integration due to existing norms adhered by most of Southeast Asian countries such as the norm of non-interference. This dilemma contradicts the region’s vision/goal of ASEAN harmony in regional security as most ASEAN countries tend to avoid interfering with one another’s internal affairs even if such affairs can jeopardize political-security within Southeast Asia.

 

On the challenges of Economics, Mr. Charles Albano discussed on one hindering barrier to ASEAN Economic Integration and that is the uncertainty of commercial competency on local products particularly on rice. He further discussed on the uncertain impact of ASEAN integration towards the Philippine economy whether it would be a boom or a bane.

On the opportunities of Socio-cultural, Ms. Danica Blanche Fernandez discussed on the possibilities and benefits of cities such as Cebu City in partnering with other ASEAN cities in the spirit of ASEAN Economic Integration. She also gave an insight on the region’s socio-cultural opportunities upon regional integration such as the blossoming of Southeast Asian culture and the formulation of a single ASEAN Identity.

 

The event then concluded with a brief insight on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis by several 4th year IRFS students and the awarding of tokens of appreciation to the guest speakers. Though the event was simply organized and took place in a classroom, it didn’t stop IRFS students from commemorating the day that served as a historical milestone for Southeast Asia on the path of regional amity and cooperation.