by Jenina Joy Chavez

This article was first published in the Jakarta Post, 19 November 2007. 

When Leaders of Member Governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet for their Thirteenth Summit in Singapore on Tuesday (November 20th), the world’s attention would be focused on what they will do on the matter of Myanmar/Burma. It will be recalled that in the last week of September, protests led by monks were met with violence by the military junta. The protests, triggered by soaring fuel prices, were the largest peaceful demonstrations since the military took over in 1988. The Burma question has become a yearly embarrassment and pressure point for ASEAN, and everyone is curious whether the collective global indignation after the September violence would prompt ASEAN Leaders to do something different this year.

by Jenina Joy Chavez 

This article first appeared in the Yellow Pad column of the BusinessWorld on 15 January 2007.

Over the weekend (January 13 and 14, 2007) the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held its 12th Summit in Cebu City, after a controversial postponement in December last year.

The Summit produced some significant agreements. These include the Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Nursing Services, which makes it possible for nurses with at least three years of experience in their home countries to practice in other ASEAN countries without having to go through additional licensing requirements; the Declaration on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers, which, albeit limited, at last recognizes the contributions and needs of migrant workers in the region; and the blueprint for the proposed ASEAN Charter that seeks to formalize rules of engagement in the regional body. ASEAN Leaders are hopeful that initiatives like these will bring it closer to the dream of an ASEAN Community and the ambition of a single market by 2020.

By Renato Redentor Constantino

We had our chance last week. The Philippine government could have taken a break from its pom-pom waving and caused the passage of the climate treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol.

The Right Livelihood Award, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ was announced in Stockholm yesterday. Dr.Walden Bello (Executive Diretor of Focus o­n the Global South) was recognised for "playing a crucial and complementary role in developing the theoretical and practical bases for a world order that benefits all people."