RP needs to prepare for borderless ASEAN Community by 2015

By MADEL R. SABATER, Manila Bulletin, March 23, 2009, 3:54pm

Department of Science and Technology (DoST) Undersecretary for Research and Development (R&D) Dr. Graciano Yumul Jr. stressed the need to prepare the country’s science and technology (S&T) manpower for the borderless ASEAN Community by 2015.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has signed a charter creating a borderless ASEAN Community come 2015.

“Apparently, most of our kababayans still do not appreciate the implications of our signing the ASEAN Charter,” Yumul said.

“Unless we prepare for these kinds of things, we’re going to have a problem,” he added.

Yumul said that in the future ASEAN setting, jobs locally available to Filipinos will also be available to those within the ASEAN Community. He said the country needs to beef up its manpower to ensure that it will not lag behind other countries once the ASEAN Charter is in effect.

He, however, assured that DoST’s Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) is making ways to assist the industry and energy sectors in preparing for the borderless ASEAN Community, starting with the creation of S&T roadmap for 2009 up to 2014, prioritizing R&D areas: food, energy, and environment, including having a Philippine identity in exported products by 2014.

“There are not enough resources, so we have to focus on our priorities,” Yumul said.

The establishment of a borderless ASEAN Community by 2015 was signed during the 14th ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, earlier this year. The creation of the ASEAN Community will be similar to that of the European Union (EU).

The human resource capabilities of scientists in the ASEAN Community are being pushed to a higher level, as S&T is expected to greatly contribute towards the achievement of the ASEAN political-security community, socio-cultural community, and economic community, which are the three pillars of the ASEAN Community, particularly in addressing issues on energy, food and security, and environment.

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