Philippines to host women, young legislators in ASEAN chairmanship

As part of its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines will host separate virtual meetings with women and young legislators around the region on April 27 and 28.

The events, set to take place through the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), were said to have been shifted to an online setup per the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in light of the ongoing fuel crisis brought by Middle Eastern conflict.

House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy will be delivering keynote addresses in both of the meetings as he currently serves as the AIPA President due to being the presiding officer of the Philippine parliament.

Aside from delivering a speech, Dy would also be appointing 4Ps Partylist Rep. JC Abalos as the Chairperson of the Youth Parliamentarians of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (YPA) and Laguna Lone District Rep. Ann Matibag as Chairperson for Women Parliamentarians of AIPA (WAIPA).

During the discussion for youth leaders, dialogue concerning the appropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI) and mental health governance would be tackled.

These consultations are going to feature input from local agencies, departments, and universities in order to lay the groundwork for possible policy reforms that may be applied by member nations.

As for WAIPA, the meeting was said to circulate around issues concerning gender gaps and gender-based violence within politics as well as policies that can support women who own medium and small enterprises.

Women political figures such as Deputy Speaker Maria Rachel Arenas, AIPA Secretary-General Chem Widhya, and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are slated to deliver remarks.

All matters raised during the online assemblies will also be reviewed during the ASEAN General Assembly scheduled this May in Cebu.