Experts Laud Philippines for Leading ASEAN as “Zone of Cooperation & Trade”

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Diplomacy and geopolitics experts lauded the Philippines’ leadership of the Asean economic bloc in helping make the region “a zone of cooperation and trade, instead of a region with intractable confrontation and conflicts” at the non-partisan Pandesal Forum of Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City. They said the Philippines as leader of Asean, now perceived as a non-aligned and independent nation in geopolitics, can also possibly help diffuse the North Korea crisis with peace and dialogue overtures.

Maritime issues expert former Ambassador Alberto Encomienda, defense expert Brig. General Victor Corpus and geopolitics analyst former Education Undersecretary Butch Valdes congratulated the Philippines’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and hosting of the forthcoming 50th anniversary summit in Manila, saying that President Rody R. Duterte’s independent foreign policy has helped stabilize the region on territorial disputes and won over all the world’s big powers U.S., China, Russia and Japan as friends of the Philippines.

Gen. Victor Corpus said that if the Philippines had insisted in the previous policy of a “win-loss” approach to the territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea, of having the Philippines win a “total victory” at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague and forcing China to accept a “total loss” position, then this approach will result in a strategic loss for the country because China doesn’t recognize the non-United Nations arbitration body and didn’t participate. General Corpus said that the Duterte administration’s “win-win” approach of allowing the Philippines to win and also seeking mutually acceptable win or benefits for the country’s ancient friend China, this is the best realpolitik and strategic approach. Corpus urged both the Philippines and China to not argue about sovereignty ownership based on overlapping legal and historic claims, but to pragmatically pursue win-win cooperation of joint exploitation of any natural or mineral resources, joint development of tourism in those disputed areas and joint cooperation in fisheries.

Gen. Corpus reminded the world that the Philippines used to benefit from an earlier version of the China-led Maritime Silk Road which was called the “Galleon Trade”, with Manila serving as crucial and strategic entrepot between China’s exports of silk and porcelain passing Manila then going to Acapulco in Mexico and then on to Seville in Spain and Europe. He said the Philippines’ revival of our ancient bilateral ties with China will make the country benefit from the 21st century Silk Road vision of China’s President Xi Jinping called the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI).

When asked why China has been building artificial isles in the disputed areas of South China Sea, General Corpus analyzed that the Straits of Malacca is crucial economically and strategically for the world’s second biggest economy of China due to its massive oil imports and huge exports passing that sea lane, which China wants to safeguard and keep always open. On the Scarborough Shoal issue, General Corpus asserted that this area called Manila Trench is the deep sea part of the South China Sea where USA’s nuclear submarines can maneuver and also possibly threaten the industrial/economic belt of China, therefore it is logical for China’s leaders to consider that area as strategic for its national security. General Corpus said that President Duterte’s cooperation policy with China and independent foreign policy shall continue to benefit the Philippines economically, strategically and diplomatically now and in the long-term.

Ambassador Encomienda lauded President Rody R. Duterte’s successful independent foreign policy, which has economically and strategically benefitted the Philippines. He rejected critics’ claims that Duterte is allegedly “inconsistent”, because Encomienda said Duterte is consistent in upholding the Philippines’s national interests. Encomienda reminded: “In foreign policy, nothing is permanent, except the national interests of our country.” Ambassador Encomienda


Undersecretary Butch Valdes said President Duterte’s leadership of Asean and championing an independent foreign policy shall allow the Philippines to benefit from the world’s biggest ever transcontinental infrastructure development program led by China called Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

SEDCI Launches IaaS, SaaS and Cloud Services Enhancements to Help Enterprises in Their Transition to the Cloud

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South Eastern Data Center, Inc. (SEDCI), a Philippine-based carrier-neutral data center, today announced new partnerships and launched a host of products that further broadens its wide array of solutions designed to provide the space and security that growing businesses need for their information security requirements.

SEDCI’s expanded product line now include SEDCI Cloudable (IaaS), SEDCI Cloud Appclick (SaaS), Cloud Applus (API), SEDCI Circuit (Connectivity), and Managed IT Services. They will complement existing products to create a complete cloud-based highly scalable computing solutions package that will facilitate companies of all sizes in gaining competitive advantages in their markets. 

·       Cloudable, SEDCI’s brand of IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service), is easy to deploy and immediately accessible to users through the virtual platform. SEDCI handles the IT infrastructure including the network, power, and physical servers while providing access to virtual servers so users can cater to their customers’ requirements. Cloudable does not require long-term commitment and delivers a service that reduces the risk of failure while providing business solutions that are cost-effective and efficient.    

·       Cloud Appclick, SEDCI’s Human Capital Management solution which run on Software-as-a-Service platform, offer better management of human resources. Its fully automated HR solutions are user-friendly and flexible for users with minimal training so that the business can focus on growth and expansion. This cloud-based solution syncs accounting data into a single database in the cloud and throughout all authorized devices. It keeps track of sales anywhere and creates invoices where ever using accurate finance data that are also securely backed-up. Collaboration among multiple users is seamless while still allowing the business control over accessibility of its online data in a secure cloud environment.

·       Cloud Applus offers essential apps such as SMS, Voice, Charging, and USSD APIs that allow even SMEs to reach out to their target market on time. Aside from APIs, SEDCI Cloud Applus also includes various other platforms to connect, create, access, and control through numerous applications powered by GSuites.

·       SEDCI Circuit Connectivity Services is a redundant network infrastructure that receives dedicated international circuits which are managed 24x7. With a large network coverage of local loops serving as direct connection to SEDCI data center, this unique facility offers the space and security for any type of company. These connectivity services can cater to small businesses, growing companies, and large enterprises with multiple options based on their needs.

·       SEDCI’s Managed IT Services employ a pool of IT professionals well-versed in the latest technologies and are well-equipped in handling IT operations and resources to support secure, highly available and flexible IT systems . SEDCI’s team of experts proactively monitors and manages the client to support high availability and is readily on-call to efficiently and swiftly address IT concerns.

SEDCI Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Maricar Nepomuceno views the new partnerships and expansion of its product portfolio as very timely and critical to help local business owners. “Business transformation is shaping the future of industries around the world and cloud-driven products, services and experiences will definitely play a big role in enhancing the competitiveness of companies, large or small.”

“With these advances, SEDCI rolls out added cloud-based enhancements so organizations can capitalize on key transformative technologies such as social, mobile, big data analytics, and IoT as well as enable budding enterprises to make their initial tentative steps to the cloud. In the process, SEDCI products lead to increased business agility, lower costs, and reduced IT complexity on the road towards innovation and business transformation.”

In his first State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo R. Duterte tasked the newly established Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) with the development of a National Broadband Plan for the Philippines.  Expected to yield results over a five-year forecast period, this initiative expresses the notion that fast, reliable broadband similar to efficient transport roads, railways and runways will be a major factor in finally achieving the  digital transformation of industry in the new economy.

In other fronts, the Philippine government is bullish that ICT technology, which today involves cloud computing, will make a difference in the competitiveness of industry.  The MSME Development Council Task Force on E-commerce of the DTI allows MSMEs access to comprehensive and focused support for tapping business opportunities and expanding markets through innovative and effective promotion of MSMEs.

There’s also the SME Roving Academy that offers training courses related to ICT, such as Expanding Business through E-commerce, Putting the Business Online and the ICT Solution Project.

In the next two to three years, IT research firm IDC Philippines foresees digital transformation (DX) to reach macroeconomic scale, which will change the way businesses operate, thus reshaping the global economy.

The rise of DX will have far-reaching effects on the market. Massive opportunities will open up for businesses as DX upgrades the capabilities of traditional industries, increases enterprise efficiency and strengthens relationships across the supply chain. Cloud-enabled services will contribute significantly for businesses to reap the maximum benefits from digital transformation.

Globe myBusiness (Cloud IaaS): “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the any economy and in today’s hyperconnected world, they need the right tools and technology to thrive. Every day, businesses tell us that faster broadband speeds will increase productivity and help deliver better services to customers. And as businesses become more and more digital, the more that we need to enable them to mitigate risks and ensure business continuity. We at Globe are stepping up our engagement with SMEs and provide them innovations such as Cloud services, powered by our high-speed internet service, to enable SMEs to optimize their businesses and catalyze the growth to the national economy,” said Derrick Heng, Senior Advisor for Globe myBusiness.  

Cr8v Web Solutions (HRIS, payroll and time-keeping SaaS): “Today’s employers need to be able to manage their workforce from wherever they are. We have combined the resources of our customer base and product development team to define the functionalities that we have built into our HR application. Inputs from all parties enable us to continually enhance our product offerings and help organizations to simplify and streamline their workforce management processes, as well as ensure they adhere to changing compliance and strategic payroll and HR practices,” said Matthew Romano, CEO of Cr8v Web Solutions

Xirrus, Inc. (Accounting SaaS): “We are excited to bundle our user-friendly and cost-effective cloud-based platform to streamline accounting processes. SEDCI customers will be happy to know that our IaaS software is not only fully integrated within its accounting functionalities but also integrates seamlessly with the rest of SEDCI’s suite of cloud-driven applications.  We can help manage complexity so growing businesses of all sizes become more competitive and realize their full potentials," said John Edward Castillo, Managing Director of Xirrus, Inc.

ASEAN: Be For the People,Work With the People

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We are people’s organizations, social movements and NGOs of youth, children, women, workers, older people, indigenous groups, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ and other sectors, including academics from the ten (10) ASEAN countries plus East Timor. We have been engaging the ASEAN and its member states for twelve (12) years now.

In conjunction with the 31st ASEAN Summit that also marks the 50th year of the ASEAN, we are organizing the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum 2017 that will be held at that University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus starting today until November 14.

Similar to previous ASEAN summits, we are again conducting our own parallel activities and solidarity gathering to traverse the landscape of challenges within the ASEAN as well as present peoples’ viable alternatives for the future of peoples in the region. 

We see the ASEAN as a strategic platform to engage member states and their mechanisms to advance peoples’ interests and address issues concerning development, trade, environment, migration, peace, security and human rights.

The official ASEAN theme for this year is “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.” Yet, we find it ironic that ASEAN’s yearning for partnership continues to exclude and marginalize the very people that it claims should be at the center of development.

In its 50 years of existence, the ASEAN has provided limited spaces for peoples’ participation as it crafts and develops most of its policies and programs to primarily serve big business interests over people’s economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. The concerns of the marginalized and exploited often remain unaddressed while corporate greed and abuse of power are generally unfettered.

And today, this trend is reaching alarming proportions as democratic spaces further shrink and human rights violations abound with the rise of authoritarian rule among ASEAN governments and their use of repressive measures to curb dissent. 

The ASEAN may have advanced significantly in incorporating human rights to its principles, but it seems only to be on paper. Human rights violations have been very evident in the continuous threats and actual subjugation of democratic rights, fundamental freedoms and economic rights in the region.

ASEAN is not a safe place for human rights activists and defenders, journalists and people who have progressive and modernizing ideas. Ethnic and religious minorities across the region are being repressed, raped, and attacked, including, most dramatically, the Rohingya as well as the peoples from Patani, Papua and Mindanao. The violent crackdown on dissent has reached alarming levels, as shown by the experiences of political parties, media and civil society in Cambodia; dissenting voices in Thailand; human rights defenders, LGBTIQ people and victims of past human rights violations in Indonesia; and activists, specifically the Bersih movement in Malaysia. The extra-judicial killings in the Philippines reaches to thirteen thousand and still counting. The increasing use of the death penalty as threat and punishment in the region is a further cause of concern.

Furthermore, throughout ASEAN’s 50 years, majority of the people have been suffering from social and economic insecurities. More than 50 percent of workers are in precarious condition – without regular jobs and suffering from poverty-level income. The average number of ASEAN women who are in vulnerable employment is slightly above 60%, unprotected and not covered by labor laws or social protection. And only 27% or 2 to 3 in every 10 persons have protection. Despite commitments made by governments across Southeast Asia, workers in many countries are still prohibited from forming independent trade unions. Labor policies across ASEAN states do not protect people from employment and discrimination based on various grounds such as disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and ethnicity.

Indeed, change must happen. But this change must transform the existing systemic inequalities and injustices towards a socially-responsive and rights-based ASEAN.

The 50th year of ASEAN should be a year to realize the hopes of its people that is anchored on human rights, promotes non-discrimination, equality, and inclusive development.

This year, the ASEAN should make a shift to a truly people-centered sharing and caring community with the people as its main and primary partners.

We call for the strengthening of the mandate of ASEAN Human Rights Mechanisms from the promotion of human rights to monitoring, investigating, commenting and recommending binding solutions to address human rights issues in the region.

In connection with the decision at the ASEAN Summit to postpone the application process for East Timor to be part of ASEAN, we call for the government of East Timor and the ASEAN member-states to take this opportunity and review consultations with the peoples of East Timor that were conducted and prioritize their membership in the ASEAN without sacrificing the economy, resources and peoples’ rights.

We call for a stronger solidarity among the people of ASEAN beyond nationalities and identities to stand together and defend our rights for a better Human Rights situation in ASEAN.

Overall, we hope to see an ASEAN that dares to truly care and partners with people first. And, together with other grassroots communities, social movements and civil society organizations, we will persist in demanding for an ASEAN For the People that works With the People. 

Issued during the press conference at Max’s Restaurant and read by:

Jenel Paclarin (Chair, ACSC/APF Regional Steering Committee / Philippine National Organizing Committee)