DepEd celebrates ASEAN Month 2023
By MARICEL MABAGA BRAVO
Gabriel Elementary School
West I District, Butuan City
By virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 282 dated July 31, 2017 (Amending Proclamation No. 1008 dated May 21, 1997), declaring the month of August of every year as the ASEAN Month and Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 013 dated July 8, 2019, enjoining all government agency heads to include the singing of the ASEAN Anthem and sharing of information on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in all flag raising ceremonies within August of every year beginning 2019, the Department of Education, through the External Partnerships Service (EPS)-International Cooperation Office (ICO) is organizing an ASEAN Month Celebration for 2023.
The ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967, through the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration). The Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand signed the original Declaration. Later, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Vietnam joined the Association, forming the current ASEAN Member States.
In a bid to incorporate the Filipino core value of Bayanihan (coming together for a common goal), to support the Makabayan core value of DepEd and the Makabansa component of the MATATAG Agenda, the theme, Bayanihan like ASEAN: Leveraging Cooperation in Education to Strengthen ASEAN Identity, will be adopted for this year’s celebration.
Furthermore, the theme also echoes the goals of two commitments undertaken by the EPS which are the SEAMEO Council Presidency of the Philippines (for the years 2023– 2025) and the Brigada Eskwela. The incorporation of a Filipino word in the theme is also in line with the celebration of the Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa which similarly falls on the month of August. ###
