Philippine Ambassador to ASEAN Elizabeth P. Buensuceso commended outgoing Filipino Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Alicia Bala for her excellent leadership in managing the ASCC pillar during her three year-term.
At the recent dinner hosted by the Ambassador in Jakarta, which was attended by ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh, members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), officials from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and some Ambassadors of ASEAN Dialogue Partners, Ambassador Buensuceso also praised DSG Bala for spearheading the implementation of the ASCC Blueprint and in pursuing ASEAN cooperative projects in areas under her purviews.
“DSG Bala did a tremendous job during her three-year term, especially in the implementation of the ASCC Blueprint and in highlighting ASEAN’s work in disaster risk management such as ASEAN’s response in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan,” Ambassador Buensuceso emphasized. In cooperation with various Philippine government agencies, DSG Bala coordinated the high level conference on Assistance for the Recovery of Yolanda (Haiyan) Affected Areas (ARYA) held in Manila in August 2014, which called on the international community to provide fresh support for the post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation needs of communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
DSG Bala, who completes her term in early September 2015, manages the ASCC Department covering Divisions of Culture Information; Education, Youth Training; Social Welfare, Women, Labor Migrant Workers; Environment; Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance; Health and Communicable Diseases; and Science Technology. She also oversees the implementation of the ASCC Blueprint and projects under ASCC that focus on forging a common identity and building a caring and sharing society which is inclusive and where the well-being, livelihood and welfare of the peoples of ASEAN are enhanced.
Before becoming DSG in September 2012, DSG Bala was an Undersecretary at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of the Philippines. (END)
