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Ensuring Social Security: ASSA Holds 20th Board Meeting in RP
THE Philippines recently hosted the 20th Board Meeting of the ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA) at the Heritage Hotel, in Manila.
The two-day event drew almost 100 local and foreign delegates representing various social security organizations in six member-countries of ASSA. The event, which was aimed at fostering social security relations among members of the ASEAN, also had observers from Mongolia.
In his opening remarks, ASSA Chair Datuk Azlan Zainol said that as the ASSA come together to discuss and deliberate issues pertaining to social security and systems in the different member-countries, "...we need to continually assess the needs of social security and find its relevance." He added that ASSA member-countries should also be aware that they will "...continually be judged on how we effectively invest for our members, in our IT systems, people, training, products for members, and in all aspects of investments."
He also emphasized that it will be useful for ASSA "...to facilitate the compilation of statistics in social security in the ASEAN to be used as basis for comparison with various countries. In coming up with the right solutions, we can learn from experiences and avoid the mistakes of the past," he said.
On the other hand, Lorna O. Fajardo, Acting President and CEO of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) welcomed the delegates and briefly talked about the ASSA's legacy to its members. "Ensuring social security is our legacy to our people. It will be our heritage to succeeding generations," she said., adding that "...every time we talk of the sustainability of our programs, we are in fact, talking about our legacy to our members in our home countries and to all our countrymen and women in the Asian diaspora all over the world. The generation after us, and the many generations to follow will look back at the gains, when their leaders before, sat down and talked about the ways and means to preserve and promote their social security programs. This will be our heritage."
Among the noted personalities who graced the Pre-Board Meeting were Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III who called on the delegates to tap the potentials of the youth in advocating the importance of social protection. He said he had long been pushing for the inclusion of social security protection subjects in the college curriculum to help instill awareness among the youth sector.
Antonio Meloto, founder of the Gawad Kalinga program also shared his insights on his community-building initiatives, citing that the State, business and civil society are the three forces for development. "Development is about people. It requires presence, it requires engagement," he said. What they have done through Gawad Kalinga, "...is to see the good in people, to inspire greatness." He advised the delegates to "...first demand greatness from ourselves, to really work for the good of others and inspire greatness from others." The GK Program is engaging government and business to undertake development that is visible, quantifiable, sustainable and replicable.
Elisea Gozun, former Philippine Environment Secretary stressed that environmental protection is the key to achieving social security. She said that "...environmental protection is essential to sustaining life itself" and that there is a need to protect the environment to ensure blue skies, clean water, clean air, and for lands and seas to remain productive. As a champion for environment causes, Gozun added that to ensure a good future for children, it is imperative that "...we strive to provide them with a best investment and that is to protect the environment."
Highlighting the 20th ASSA Board Meeting was the turnover of the ASSA Chairmanship from Zainol to Fajardo which took place during the Board Meeting proper. A series of presentations on the best social security practices in ASSA member-countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines capped the Board Meeting this year.