(L-R) Joycee Teodoro, Foreign Affairs Research Specialist, FSI; Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, Regional Director, OCDRO V; Hon. Fay Lea Patria M. Lauraya, PhD, SUC President IV, Bicol University; Gov. Joey Salceda, Albay; Hon. Laura Q. del Rosario, DFA Undersecretary for International Economic Relations.
(L-R) Joycee Teodoro, Foreign Affairs Research Specialist, FSI; Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, Regional Director, OCDRO V; Hon. Fay Lea Patria M. Lauraya, PhD, SUC President IV, Bicol University; Gov. Joey Salceda, Albay; Hon. Laura Q. del Rosario, DFA Undersecretary for International Economic Relations.

The Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (CIRSS) of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) Road Show, a public awareness campaign organized by the Office of the Undersecretary for International Relations (OUIER) DFA. The two road shows were organized in partnership with Saint Louis University of Baguio and Bicol University and held last 19 September and 16 October 2014, respectively.

The APEC Road Show is an awareness campaign in preparation for the Philippines’ hosting of APEC in 2015.  It aims to educate the youth about APEC as well as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Undersecretary Laura Q. del Rosario gave an overview of APEC, where she underscored the importance of economic resilience as economic integration deepens, emphasizing that development must be sustainable.  Joycee Teodoro, Foreign Affairs Research Specialist, discussed the ASEAN Economic Community.  In her presentation, Ms. Teodoro pointed out that AEC and APEC share the same objective of ushering in economic growth and prosperity in the region.

Ms. Teodoro discusses the ASEAN Economic Community during the APEC Road Show at Bicol University, Legazpi City.
Ms. Teodoro discusses the ASEAN Economic Community during the APEC Road Show at Bicol University, Legazpi City.

 

Both speakers highlighted the numerous opportunities that APEC and AEC will bring in, such as increased trade and investments, with the end goal of narrowing the region’s development gap. At the same time, they pointed out that challenges need to be addressed in order for the Philippines to increase its competitiveness in the region. They underscored the importance of developing the country’s human resources through constant retooling of skills.  In this way, the country’s work force will be more competitive at the regional level. The role of the education sector was highlighted as a key factor towards achieving sustainable economic growth and prosperity.

The participants of the event were students and faculty representatives of various universities and colleges in Baguio, Albay, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon.