A forum on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC) will be held in this city next week with the aim of raising the level of awareness on the AEC and its implications on the Philippine economy. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Zamboanga Peninsula Director Dr. Sitti Amina Jain said the forum will be conducted on May 27 at the Grand Astoria Hotel in this city. Jain said the forum is under the aegis of the Task Force on ASEAN Integration of the Regional Development Council in the region.
Jain said DTI Assistant Secretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo will be the resource speaker during the forum in this city.
Asec Rodolfo will talk and discuss issues on Advancing Philippine Engagement in AEC and the Philippine Status of Commitments. DTI Bureau of Export Trade Promotion Director Senen M. Perlada will discuss issues on ASEAN Integration: An Overview, and the Philippine Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Dr. Erlinda Medalla and Dr. Adoracion Navarro from the Philippine institute for Development Studies (PIDS) will discuss topics on Achieving AEC 2015: Trade Liberalization and Facilitation; and, Infrastructure and Logistics: Moving Toward AEC 2015. DTI Undersecretary for the Regional Operations Group, Zenaida Cuizon-Maglaya will be the keynote speaker during the forum. Jain said all local chief executives in the region business leaders and industry captains, regional/provincial heads of national government agencies, the academe, NGOs, members of the press, and consumer organizations had been invited to attend the event.
