MANILA, (PIA) -- The Department of Education (DepEd), through its International Cooperation Office, organized this morning a virtual ASEAN Flag Raising Ceremony to commemorate the celebration of the 2021 Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Month.
The event, which simultaneously took place at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City, was broadcast live via Facebook and participated in by all regional offices and other education stakeholders.
Deped Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones led the online ASEAN flag raising rites, and highlighted the importance of regional cooparation and bayanihan.
"I am honored to welcome you to this flag ceremony of the Department of Education in celebration of the 54th Founding Anniversary of ASEAN. I would like to acknowledge our very own DepEd organizing team for making this event happen," Briones said.
"Since its establishment, the ASEAN has proven itself one of the most prominent regional organizations that promote peace, sustainable development, and unity among its members," she added.
Briones said her department has organized various activities to commemorated ASEAN Month under the theme, “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper” in the education sector.
Amid the threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant, attendees used the online platform and gathered to sing the ASEAN song out loud.
To recall, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967 through the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).
The Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand signed the original Declaration and was later on joined by Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam to form the current ASEAN Member States.
By virtue of Proclamation No. 282 of the Philippines dated 31 July 2018 (Amending Proclamation no. 1008 dated 21 May 1997), the Philippines declared the month of August of every year as ASEAN Month.
On the other hand, the Civil Service Commission, through Memorandum Circular No. 013 dated 8 July 2019, enjoin all government agency heads to include the singing of the ASEAN Anthem and sharing of information on ASEAN in all flag raising ceremonies within August of every year beginning 2019. (PIA-NCR)
