President Rodrigo Duterte expressed optimism. It was because that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will come back more strongly.
Recovering from the coronavirus outbreak “appears to be a formidable challenge,” says Duterte in his message on Saturday, the 10-member regional bloc’s 53rd founding anniversary.
“But if the responsibility is with partners, the sharing is in form of an incentive. Furthermore, it aims to establish a more prosperous Southeast Asian country,” Duterte said.
“We are confident that the ASEAN way of partnership and mutual aid will help us overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, move forward with our community-building endeavors,” the President added.
He also emphasized that the Philippines will continue to strengthen relations within. And also, outside the country, along with the rest of the ASEAN member states.
The Philippines now has the most COVID-19 incidents in Southeast Asia, after this week’s surpassing Indonesia. The cases recorded more than 122,000, with over 66,000 recoveries and 2,168 deaths.
During the virtual summit last June, the ASEAN leaders discussed the possibility of reopening the region to business travelers amid eased restrictions but no update has been made public since then.
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