THE ALPHABET OF TECHNICAL WRITING

A :
A c c u r a c y .
This can be attained by guarding against careless thinking, expressions and calculations.
B
:
B
r
e
v
i
t
y
is conciseness of expression, checking the development of your own ideas and accuracy of expression.
C :
C o n f i d e n c e .
If you believe in what you are saying is right and wise, write it. Have trust in yourself.
D: Dignity.
Particular attention should be given to diction. Avoid using contractions like wont, shouldnt, cant ,dont. Use straightforward expression with
summarized, simplified and well-organized information.
E :
E m p h a s i s .
Make your report forceful.
F :
F a
c
i l
i
t y .
Report Writing depends more on pacing, sequence, arrangement and connections to achieve smooth flowing, easy to read continuity.
G :
G r a m m a t i c a l C o r r e c t n e s s .
Acceptable grammatical practice is important for sensible as well as social reasons.
H :
H o n e s
t y .
Proper documentation must be used. A technical writer must acknowledge his sources.
I :
I l l u s t r a t i o n s .
The use of graphic materials is very useful in technical writing.
J
:
J
u d g m e
n t .
Judicious weighing of evidence is important in a report. The best evidence is that which is (1) most ample(2) most pertinent (3) most simple (4) most
in harmony with the rest of available evidence.
K: Knowledge.
The communication of knowledge is one of the chief functions of the report. It is more than a collection of data for it involves interpretations and
formulation of conclusions. Without intelligent interpretation ,data will remain useless.
L
:
L
o
g
i
c
The process of showing the relations among groups of things and classes of group is logic. It is a process of classification, putting things in their
proper places.
M : M e c h a n i c a l N e a t n e s s .
A report should be neatly typed and well margined so that it will be easier to read. Headings, subheadings and indention are mechanical devices
which help to make the organization of the content clear. Your report must then be clean, free from typographical errors and erasures.
N: Normal Procedure.
Conformity to standard practices makes report easier to understand.
O: Objectivity
can be achieved if you avoid the use of first person in order to give the impression that the work being reported is a team effort or a company activity.
P
: P
l a
n n i
n g .
You need to have a clear idea of where you are going to end before you begin writing.
Q : Q u a l i f i c a t i o n .
Qualify what you write by describing what factors are constant and what factors are viable as you work.
R : R e v i s i o n .
It is the most important phase of technical reporting aside from planning, designing, rough drafting.
S : S t r a i g h t
S e n t e n c e s
, In a good report, each paragraph begins with a straight forward statement of its subject.
T : T h o r o u g h n e s s .
You can be thorough by (1) preparing a checklist or requirements in the planning phase (2) marking off each requirement as it is fulfilled (3) using the
checklist again in the revision phase for a final check.
U
:
U
n
i
t
y
.
A unified report is one in which everything is clearly relevant to main point under discussion.
V : V i e w p o i n t .
Point of view, e.g. as a reporter, researcher or employee, should maintained consistently throughout there port.
W :
W o r d
C h o i c e .
Avoid pompous, vague and ornate words. Be precise as you can.
X: Xtra
effort brings success.
Y
:
Y
o
u
.
A report is written for an audience and you should think in terms of pacing and timing. Thus your information can be presented in segments
appropriate to your readers knowledge and needs.
Z: Zest.
Write only when have something worth saying and write as though you were performing a service that only you can perform

ASEAN 2015: An Opportunity or a Threat?

http://www.addu.edu.ph/news-articles/asean-2015-opportunity-or-threat
A platform for conversations known as "Pakighinabi" has been conducted in the Ateneo de Davao
University (ADDU) in order to provide avenues for discussions on issues relative to the common good. Last
22nd January 2014, another "Pakighinabi" was held focusing on ASEAN 2015, attended by students, faculty
and administrators from the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS), particularly the Social Science cluster, the
School of Nursing (SON), the School of Business & Governance (SBG) and the School of Education (SOE).
Ms. Ma. Louella A. Leh, a part-time faculty of the Economics Department, was the lead discussant. Given
her expertise on Development Economics and her experience as a former administrator of the local
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), she was able to provide the participants with
several points that prompted a very good exchange on differing perspectives about ASEAN 2015.
She started her sharing with a bit of history on the founding of the ASEAN Community with its key
components, namely: the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the ASEAN Political-Security Community
(APSC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC), each with its own respective goal(s). The AEC's
goals include transforming ASEAN nations into a single market and production base, making it highly
competitive and fully integrated into the global economy. The APSC is focused on making ASEAN nations a
rules-based community of shared norms and values, with the members sharing the responsibility of
regional security. The ASCC, on the other hand, takes the responsibility of creating an ASEAN community
that is people-oriented and socially responsible, as well as of building a regional identity. Ms. Leh
emphasized the nature of these key components as closely linked and mutually reinforcing.

Need for Common Ethics

A question on ethics was raised especially that, based on past presentations about ASEAN 2015, economic
development seems to be the focal point in the discussions. By and large, the economic designers have
not yet agreed on the universal ethics that will be observed and made operative once ASEAN 2015 is
implemented. There is a possible danger, for instance, that if ASEAN creates a powerful economic engine
without some generally recognized ethical norms agreed upon by each member-state, then it might put
our environment at risk. Corollary to this concern is a question on whether or not the gains of development
will eventually reach the common people. Although ASEAN has a component that looks into creating a
community that is people-oriented, there is still much to do in terms of economic gains reaching the
people who have limited or no access to it, especially here in Mindanao. It is a reality that ethics is one
area that is difficult to reconcile even in our very own respective communities. However, structures for
dialogue and consensus are in placed where ASEAN member-states can iron out differences and come up
with shared norms and value systems.

A Question of Readiness
Another subject that calls for introspection regarding the implication of ASEAN 2015 is the question of the
Philippines' readiness for this emerging and seemingly inevitable phenomenon. There were recent
pronouncements from some government officials particularly from the Department of Agriculture (DOA)
that the Philippines is not ready for this move considering that in terms of agricultural products, we are not
considered at par with the other countries in Southeast Asia. A case in point is the Philippines rice
importation from Thailand and Vietnam. And yet in terms of the service sector, the Philippines has already
been performing well, making it one of the major and competitive players in the service industry. The
implementation of ASEAN 2015, moreover, could create more promising opportunities for doing business
with other nations in Southeast Asia, thus the need for logistics management. Therefore, it is suffice to say
that although there are areas which may call for more efficiency and competitiveness, especially as regard

local businesses, but there are also other areas where the Philippines may be able to meet the challenge
that ASEAN 2015 may pose.

Challenging Educational Paradigm

On the area of education, ASEAN 2015 brings both a possibility of expansion and a limitation at the same
time. While it offers an array of opportunities for curricular reforms, there is also this threat that curricular
programs might be highly dictated by the demands of ASEAN 2015, thus fashioning an educational
paradigm where the economy takes center stage, at the cost of alienating the human community in the
process. It is, therefore, a challenge to academic institutions to be able to generate thinking and thoughts
that criticize the existing economic apparatus, especially those that do not serve the human community
and jeopardize the common good.
Implications of ASEAN 2015: A Need for Rethinking

http://www.iiss.org/en/events/events/archive/2014-0f13/february-e91c/fullerton-lecture-purisima-3d1d
Several apprehensions were also identified. There is a need to reexamine our existing laws and legislations
particularly on labor, security of tenure, and even due process. One of the things being looked into in
ASEAN 2015 is the possibility of synchronizing licenses which may result to the marginalization of our own
labor force. There is also a possibility of greater involvement of the ASEAN nations in internal conflicts,
since regional interests become as important as national interests. This can also suppress our countrys
claims in some contested areas like Sabah and Spratlys.
However, regardless of all apprehensions, ASEAN 2015 is an inevitable reality that, ready or not, the
Philippines has to contend with and to learn to adapt to. The challenge then is for educators to begin
locating themselves in this whole gamut of possibilities. As for ADDU, the spirit that the ASEAN 2015
seems to promote has already been rearticulated in the university's Vision-Mission-Goals (VMG) and laid
down more specifically through its different Key Result Areas (KRAs), as embraced by different
stakeholders. So in a sense, we welcome the change that comes with this new challenge without
compromising the truths we advocate and endeavor so hard to live by. (By Eufemia A. Faller of the School
of Education and the Arrupe Office of Social Formation, for the Pakighinabi Conversations Series. Edited by
M. Isabel S. Actub of the Arrupe Office of Social Formation)
Lecture as prepared:
Thank you, Dr. Huxley, for inviting me to deliver this lecture.
The Philippines desires to follow in the footsteps of Singapore, an exemplary nation that embodies the
dividends that good governance can bring. Hence, since Philippine President Benigno Aquino III took office
in 2010, he has taken on an agenda of good governance which has been the key to the countrys recent
economic resurgence.
Good Governance in the Philippines
In 1965, when Singapore had just started out as an independent country upon its separation from
Malaysia, the Philippines was already quite advanced. Data show that the total exports of the Philippines at
that time were more than the total exports of Korea and Taiwan combined. However, after around thirty
years of mismanagement, we have lost our way from being the second largest economy in Asia (next to
Japan) to being one of the underdeveloped nations in the regional bloc.
In 2010, we have finally seen a change in the Philippine destiny Benigno Aquino III, with his staunch
pursuit of good governance, was elected President. Ten years before his administration, the Philippines

grew at an average of only 4.5% despite rosy prospects in the global market. However, just three years
into his term, President Aquino has already taken the average growth rate to 6.3% even despite global
upheavals. In 2013, we grew at 7.2%, the countrys second highest annual growth rate under the current
administration. This puts us just behind China, the fastest growing economy in Asia.
Although the Philippines has had sixty straight quarters of growth since the end of the 1997 Asian financial
crisis, those levels of growth were still insufficient. They still were not enough for a country with a
population growth rate of over 2% a year. That is why we needed to move growth up a notch, which is
what the current administration has been aiming to do.
Many do not see the potential that good governance can bring to a developing nation, perhaps because its
benefits can only be seen at the margins.
For example, in the case of the Philippines, better governance has allowed us to gain more confidence
from the financial markets. Increased confidence has resulted in lower borrowing costs not only for the
government but also for the private sector, such as households and businesses. Because of this, we have
reduced interest payments from over 30% of our budget, right after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, to now
just 16.6%. Higher interest savings have enabled us to redeploy a significant portion of our budget to more
productive areas. The President has dedicated that to investment in our people through increases in
spending of education, healthcare, and safety nets for the poorest of the poor.
The Philippines is the youngest country in Asia with an average age of twenty-three. However, for us to
realize the demographic dividend, we need to ensure that our people are educated and trained to be
productive economic participants of the Philippines and ASEAN. That is the reason why one focus of this
administration is investing in people (the other focus being investing in infrastructure).
Another gain of better governance is that our own people have become more confident in the future and in
the Philippines. We have seen improved compliance with tax laws, leading to an improvement in our tax
effort (tax revenues as a percentage of GDP) by one percentage point. This may seem like a small
percentage but imagine the significant amount of funds that we can now allocate to more productive
investment expenditures. Imagine the bigger space we have created to enter a virtuous cycle of fiscal
management. For the first three quarters of 2013, our tax effort has stood at 13.7%. However, we are
hopeful that we can achieve 16% at the end of the Presidents term in 2016.
Confidence in the future and in the Philippines encourages people to start investing long-term. Whereas
borrowing rates used to be at double-digits, they are now at much lower rates and at fixed rates for longer
terms. People are now able to buy houses for their families since investing has become more affordable.
This clearly shows that benefits of good governance trickle down to even individual households.
Better governance also benefits our businesses. In the past, they were content with two-, three-, or fiveyear plans. With a change in outlook, dynamics, risk profile, and perspective, they are now committing to
longer-term projects which are now more attractive from their standpoint. For example, companies that
were never involved in public-private partnerships are now investing in such partnerships developing
infrastructure. More and more companies are now entering the hospitality industry and are making major
strides in that area.
These examples explain President Aquinos principle of good governance is good economics. Even
despite the difficult global economic environment, we have continued to reap benefits of growth because
of our main drivers, namely consumption, as spurred by our people, and infrastructure, spurred by
investment.
Both these drivers are sustainable since, unlike resource-dependent emerging market countries, the
Philippines holds a strong current account position. In fact, our reserves continue to grow from historic high
to historic high. Another assurance of sustainability is our well-managed fiscal situation. Our deficit is less
than 2% of GDP and our debt-to-GDP ratio is down to lower levels. This is reflected in the market premiums

of Philippine credit default swaps (CDS), which is another measure of investor preference. We are tracking
that of Malaysia, an A-rated credit country.
However, there is a sentiment against emerging markets wherein individual countries are lumped together
as if there is only one kind of emerging market country. As a result, the Philippine peso has been
depreciating. I believe there is no fundamental reason as to why this depreciation should occur. I would
even say the peso is undervalued given the Philippines impressive growth and macroeconomic
environment. Inflation may have experienced an uptick, because of more expensive imports due to the
depreciation of our currency, but it is still within the policy range of the government.
The Philippine president only has one six-year term. When President Aquino leaves his post in 2016, we
want to ensure that the achievements we have made in the past three years will be sustained by the
succeeding administration. Hence, our challenge now is to institutionalize changes.
One way is through legislation we are changing laws, making it more difficult to regress to old habits.
Let me give a few examples on this. We have been protecting domestic airlines in our country and yet we
have been yearning to promote tourism; clearly, these are conflicting objectives. Hence, early on in his
term, President Aquino opened up the skies outside of Metro Manila where the true beauty of the
Philippines can be found. In fact, we now have Middle Eastern airlines operating daily flights to Clark
International Airport, just north of Manila. Another example of legislative reform in the administration is the
passing of the Reproductive Health Bill in 2012. After sixteen years of deadlock between the government
and other groups, we have finally made significant progress through this passing of the bill.
Our strong current account position and fiscal situation can support our consumption and infrastructure
investment, which are our primary drivers of growth. Since the Philippines has lessened its dependence on
exports and things beyond our control, we are confident that we can sustain our record-high growth rates
for more years.
The Upsides of the Philippines
When I look at the Philippines, I see a country with more upsides than downsides.
Earlier on, I mentioned resource-driven countries as a comparison. In fact, the Philippines, the fifth most
mineralized nation in the world, was once a resource-driven country. In the mid 60s, copper was at very
high levels. We were a major exporter in 1965 because of the largest copper mines that you can find in our
country. However, when you analyze our growth in 2013, you will see that the contribution of mining
activities went down by around 12%. The reason for this was we slowed down mining by no longer
approving new exploration permits. The government wanted to make sure that mining is done on a win-win
and a sustainable basis.
We also wish to create a map of the country which determines where we will allow or disallow mining. By
the end of the year, we will make a new law identifying these Go and No-Go zones. For example, there
is a group of islands in the west of the Philippines called the Palawan islands which McKinsey called to be a
potential Maldives of the East. It has around 2,000 islands that are not only breathtaking but also rich in
minerals. However, if you wish to tap the tourism potential in that area, you cannot have mining go hand in
hand with it.
In line with this, we also plan to mandate transparency in our extractive industries and improved profit
sharing. When mineral prices rise again, which I believe will happen given that minerals are finite
resources, hopefully mining activities can help contribute to an additional percentage to the Philippines
annual growth. In fact, at the time when prices were quite high, a mining project down south of the
Philippines was forecasted to have added at least one percentage to our growth every year.
Another upside in our country is found in tourism. A country of Singapores size is getting more than fifteen
million tourists a year, and yet the Philippines hardly gets about five million. If you look at the world map,

you will notice that among all ASEAN countries, the Philippines sits at the center of the coral triangle.
Another geographical advantage that we should capitalize on is that we are second to Indonesia in terms
of length of coastline. Our coastline boasts about 36,000 kilometers of pristine beaches. In fact, ours and
Indonesias (about 50,000 kilometers) are both larger than the United States coastline.
Since President Aquino arrived, we have more than doubled tourist arrivals in our country. This is a vast
improvement but we believe we are still just scratching the surface. Let me mention one of my pet projects
aimed at encouraging tourism. It concerns the Post Office Building in Manila, which is as beautiful if not
more beautiful than the Fullerton Building. Unfortunately, it is still a dilapidated post office. I hope one of
these days we can bid this building out and develop it so we may attract more tourists to that area.
We are confident that as we construct more airports and as our businesses build more facilities, we will
prove to the world that indeed it is more fun in the Philippines. We are very excited about the potential of
tourism in our economy.
Let me talk about agriculture. When President Aquino took office, we were the worlds number one rice
importer, and yet there really is no reason why we should take this number one spot. We may be an
archipelago but we do have very fertile land, with four million hectares devoted to rice production. The
problem lies in the average yield it is only at around four tons per hectare, which is less than what we
need. Through better irrigation, better use of technology, and a better location (i.e. moving away from
disaster prone areas), we have been able to reduce the land area necessary to plant rice.
As we continue to make improvements in irrigation and infrastructure of agriculture, we believe that this
sector can help accelerate development in the country. Thirty percent of our people are involved in
agriculture, and yet it only accounts for twelve percent of GDP there is a clear disparity. This is the reason
why poverty is rampant in agricultural areas. Hence, I look at this potential in agriculture, in improving
production efficiency and in uplifting those in poverty, as an upside.
The southernmost part of our country, called Mindanao, is close to Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is the
second largest island of the Philippines, and an area that is not as often hit by typhoons. Mindanao offers
so much potential for our country but unfortunately is hampered by a secessionist movement. That is why
we are thankful that our President, through his exercise of political will, is about to conclude the peace
agreement in Mindanao. In fact, we have signed and moved on to the next phase translating to law. Once
we do so, we will be able to unleash the potential of the region, which happens to be a fertile, developed,
and beautiful land that is contiguous to other ASEAN nations.
We are hopeful that once we turn these upsides into reality, we will be able to sustain growth rates of 78%. If we are to deal with poverty, we have to grow at those levels.
ASEAN Integration
One other upside for the Philippines is our proposed integration with ASEAN in 2015. I am very excited
about what ASEAN can become if we all work together to make this economic community into a reality.
If looked at as a single country, ASEAN will be among the top ten economies in terms of population, and
probably among the youngest with an average age of twenty-seven years old. It is important to note that
economies are about people. They are the ones who consume, travel, invest in houses, and have
aspirations for their children. They are the engines for growth and that excites me. We are not only
young; we are also increasing in prosperity. Disposable incomes across the region are actually increasing.
The ASEAN is in the right place of the world for the next thirty to fifty years. An Ernst & Young study
estimates that two-thirds of the worlds middle class will be from our region in Asia by 2030. Again, the
young and the middle class are the drivers of growth. However, we cannot capitalize on these
opportunities if we do not do the right things. In the case of the Philippines, we need to invest in educating
our young people.

We also need to open up and make doing business in the Philippines easier. Education without
opportunities will result in the same challenges that the Philippines faces today where many of our people
leave the country to work elsewhere.
We can ease doing business in ASEAN countries by simplifying rules, investing in infrastructure, and
increasing connectivity. However, these are key challenges for ASEAN because of the vast infrastructure
and development gap between its member nations. We have both the richest and the poorest nations in
the world. We are also not contiguous, giving us challenges in terms of geography.
Obviously, connectivity is not just about physical connectivity. It is also about harmonizing standards and
the regulatory environment. We may have not completely succeeded in this aspect but we have made
progress.
The Philippines has been in the electronics industry for the longest time although we have stayed in the
lower end of the semiconductors industry. We have been told that this is not sustainable since the cluster
is not complete. Fortunately for us, electronics was one of several industries that ASEAN integrated early.
Now, our electronics industry is not just the Philippine electronics industry it is now part of the wider
ASEAN electronics industry. We are moving semi-conductors from Manila to Penang or Singapore, as easy
as moving goods within the US. We use a super green lane and electronic lodging, have harmonized forms,
and have no duties.
When you look at where ASEAN is now in terms of intra-ASEAN trade, we are only at about 25% of total
trade. Keep in mind that we are now about to enter integration. In the case of the European Union, in 1992,
they were already at over 60% intra-EU trade. By comparing the ASEAN situation with the European Union
situation, you will see that there is still room for improvement. We need to trade more within ASEAN.
I believe that encouraging trade involves not just participation of national governments, but more
importantly, of businesses as well. Businesses will boom if ASEAN integrates successfully but this is not
possible without their participation. A regal example is Nestl. When ASEAN was conceptualizing a single
market, Nestl proposed a series of projects across ASEAN that will not be subject to tariff. The great thing
about this idea was that there were no losers. Nestl was specializing in each area of the ASEAN regional
bloc. Companies should consider looking into that model, rather than the model of having a supersized
facility in one area making everyone else a consumer.
That is the challenge for the private sector to become a catalyst for integration itself. It will be a more
daunting challenge for smaller sections of the private sector but this is where the government can step in
to facilitate the sharing of information.
Outside of the market for goods, ASEAN also has an opportunity for labor. In an integrated ASEAN, the
Philippines will be the second largest in population and, I would think, the most mobile population.
Therefore, opening up labor markets is going to be crucial if we are to realize the potential of economic
integration. In the case of Singapore, Malaysia, and even Thailand, they are practically at full employment
needing extra labor capacity to grow. For example, Thailand is going to Indochina to find labor resources. In
an integrated ASEAN, mobility of labor will be important.
It will be a challenge to trade without integration of financial markets, which is something we need to work
on. For example, and maybe I am wrong, I am not aware of any ASEAN bank that has branches in all ten
ASEAN countries. If we are to integrate, our banks must be at the forefront of opening up the markets since
they are the ones who facilitate the flow of information. We should also have harmonization of regulatory
standards, such as disclosure requirements, and of credit rating agencies. We have a credit rating agency
in the Philippines and its counterparts in other ASEAN markets, but can you compare them as apples to
apples?
Integration of financial markets will be an essential step in supporting economic integration. In fact, the
whole ASEAN region is a reserve surplus area. We actually create reserves and yet we send these abroad,
outside ASEAN. Then, we have investment managers across the world who determine whether or not we

deserve to receive our own money as investment. Somehow, the credit rating system depressed the rating
of our region, increasing the risk premium our own money faces in coming back to our region. That is why I
think it is important to recycle our own reserves as close to home as possible. However, that will not
happen without integrating first these capital markets. Otherwise, no capital market would be deep enough
and none will have the liquidity. One of our goals then must be to brand ASEAN as a distinct class of
investment opportunities.
Based on a study by the Asian Development Bank, infrastructure investments will need an estimated sixty
billion dollars a year at least for the next ten years. When you look at the reserves of the region, we have
that money, probably close to a trillion dollars in reserves, but none of which is easily accessible to fund
infrastructure investments. That is the goal behind the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund administered by the
ADB. It is still very small, with about half a billion dollars, but it is a start. We need a bold move among
ASEAN countries agreeing to allocate, for example, 5% of reserves and working with the ADB or another
entity to pool this into a bigger infrastructure fund. Infrastructure development will allow us to compete in
a global environment as we increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our supply chains, at least
infrastructure and process-wise.
Although businessmen and women move easily across Manila, Kuala Lumpur, or Singapore, the rest of our
population still see ASEAN as foreign. One way to address this is by integrating our educational systems
and by having similar standards. Second, we can encourage schools to have cross-ASEAN relationships.
Third, we increase cross-enrollment, perhaps through conscious funding for educational opportunities
within ASEAN. Without knowledge or familiarity of our own region, it will be easier for the ASEAN youth to
trade with Europe or the US since they have more information about them.
ASEAN has potential, and 2015 is already less than a year away. However, I look at 2015 not as the time of
integration but as a time of harmonization and convergence.
True integration, I believe, is still quite far. It is essential to have time first for harmonization and
convergence, so we can match expectations with reality to avoid frustrating one another. We have to
accept the reality that the ASEAN way takes more time than the European Union way simply because the
member nations of ASEAN are more disparate and different from one another in terms of stages of
development. We have to accept that although we can reap countless benefits from integration in the
future, we have to strive much harder to achieve them. We have to ensure first that our institutions, our
standards, and our people grow to be harmonized.
For instance, we still do not have a common customs border, which will be a hurdle especially when the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) becomes a reality. TPP, from where I stand, is a challenge to ASEAN
centrality, and therefore a challenge to ASEAN itself. In TPP, there are four members who can benefit from
a very large market and there is the large market that can get a backdoor through these four members.
This is why I have been espousing the idea to the other non-ASEAN members of TPP that ASEAN should be
invited as a TPP member, rather than individual countries. This is the case in the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) where the whole ASEAN region is the leader with six non-ASEAN countries as
its partners. These partnerships outside our region are beneficial if we engage others properly. Therefore,
the more conscious we are of one anothers challenges, the more likely we will succeed at integration, and
the more likely we will reap the rewards of an integrated market.
Dr. Huxley, I hope I was able to fruitfully share with you some of my thoughts on the Philippines and the
ASEAN. For those who have not been to Manila, I hope you visit soon. It is the best time to visit since the
typhoons are a few months away. The Philippines continues to grow but without the typhoons, we could
have been growing faster. But unfortunately for us, this is the reality we face.
This is my last point; all of us must start talking about how we can more effectively share the risk and the
consequences of climate change. What happened to the Philippines last year with Typhoon Yolanda
(Haiyan) is an ominous warning that climate change is real. Of the five deadliest typhoons in the
Philippines, three happened in the past three years. I believe we should all work together to make sure
there is risk sharing, not just through aid or assistance but through additional mechanisms. More than risk

sharing, there must be a collective effort to face climate change whether the ASEAN has integrated or not.
Since ultimately, all of us are vulnerable to these consequences.
With one eye to the future and another eye to the benefits of the present, we should work together to
strive for a united community. By working together, we can make the benefits of integration a more
attainable reality.