Deputy Director-General Julio S. Amador III of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) delivered his lecture “Association of South East Asian Nations: Towards a People-Driven ASEAN” during the Kapihan ng Bayan sa UP at Ang Bahay Ng Alumni at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon Citry on 24 March 2015.

The Kapihan ng Bayan was organized by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association.

Deputy Director-General Amador discussed key concepts of the ASEAN, its three pillars, and its key challenges and prospects. He emphasized that while drawbacks and limitations exist within the ASEAN, it does not undermine the effectiveness of the ASEAN. He also explained that regional integration is forcing the ASEAN Member States to undertake domestic reforms in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented by integration. More importantly, he emphasized that ASEAN processes need to be people-driven and veer away from it being elite-centered.

The briefing was attended by alumni of the University of the Philippines and is intended to prepare them for ASEAN 2015, an event which will have profound and far-reaching effects on the lives of all Filipinos when it goes into force by the end of this year.

Also present during the event was Dr. Federico M. Macaranas of the Asian Institute of Management.