MANILA, Philippines – SINABI ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., na isang malaking karangalan para sa Pilipinas na mag-host ng first High-Level Conference of the High Contracting Parties (HCPs) dahil pumayag ang apat na European countries gaya ng Sweden, Poland, Romania, and Lithuania na sumama sa ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).
Inihatid ng Pangulo ang kanyang talumpati sa 50th anniversary ng TAC, na unang tinintahan noong 1976. Dumalo rin sa nasabing event sina Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, House Speaker Faustino Dy III, foreign ministers, at mga miyembro ng Gabinete.
Ang TAC ay itinuturing bilang “guiding code” ng ASEAN sa pagkamit at pagpapanatili ng katatagan sa rehiyon.
“Manila also served as the venue for the signing of the Protocol that opened the Treaty to states outside of Southeast Asia, allowing its principles to echo even further beyond the founding nations,” ang sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos.
“Today, as ASEAN Chair, the Philippines is once again honored to host another historic first— the convening of the inaugural High-Level Conference of the High Contracting Parties (HCPs),” aniya pa rin.
Ang pagpayag ng apat na bansa ay nagresulta ng High Contracting Parties (HCPs) sa TAC na 62, idagdag pa ang pagpapalawak ng tratado sa buong mundo ay umabot na lampas sa Southeast Asia.
Nauna nang sinabi ni Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, ang inaugural High-Level Conference ay nakikinitang pag-uusapan at tutugunan ang ‘conflict prevention and preventive diplomacy, maritime security and cooperation, at emerging regional threats and challenges.’
“This result teaches us one lesson. Neighborhood is not defined by geographic distance. It is defined by shared values and common aspirations. When you view one another through the lens of “kapwa,” physical distance evaporates. We become true neighbors in a shared world,” ang sinabi ni Lazaro.
Tinawag itong isang “full circle moment,” sinabi naman ng Pangulo natatandaan niya na bata lamang siya nang unang sumali ang Pilipinas sa ASEAN treaty sa panahon ng pagkapangulo ng kanyang ama na si dating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“This commemoration is also deeply personal. Fifty years ago, one of the leaders seated at that historic table in Bali was the 10th President of the Republic of the Philippines — my father, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos,” ani Pangulong Marcos.
“I was very young at that time. I could not have imagined what that document would one day mean for the Philippines and even for the wider world,” ang dagdag na pahayag ng Pangulo.
Nilagdaan ng Pilipinas ang tratado noong 1976 sa Bali, kung saan si dating Pangulong Marcos Sr. ang tumayong kinatawan.
“Across generations, they have served as a marketplace of ideas for diplomats and policymakers. They have borne witness to exchanges of national statements, observed how consensus is reached, and have been among the first to witness landmark documents being signed,” ang tinuran ng Chief Executive.
“Upon these tables rest the agreements that shape economies, bolster relations among nations, deepen cultural understanding, and, ultimately, preserve peace,” aniya pa rin.
“The treaty’s spirit, can be linked to the Filipino value of bayanihan, in which people help one another and celebrate together after the work is done,” ani Pangulong Marcos.
Sa kabilang dako, inihayag ng Pangulo na ang commemorative postage stamp at isang Sampaguita-inspired anniversary emblem ay sumasagisag sa 50 taon ng kapayapaan sa limang kontinente.
Sa pagtatapos ng event, nanawagan ang Pangulo sa lahat ng lider na patuloy na bitbitin ang kahalagahan ng tratado.
“May this evening remind us that every enduring partnership begins with a conversation, every lasting friendship with mutual trust, and every meaningful cooperation with the simple willingness to sit together, listen to one another, and seek common ground,” anito. KRIS JOSE
