BANGKOK 05 MARCH 2024 - The Philippine Government’s commitment to the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda was the key message of the multi-agency delegation of the Philippines in the various sessions and side events of the recently concluded 11th United Nations Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD11), which was held in Bangkok from 20 to 23 February 2024.
Officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Commission on Human Rights, and the House of Representatives were guided by the country statement delivered by NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, as the head of the Philippine delegation, on the Philippines’ steadfast commitment to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) despite the challenges.
The Philippines was among the countries of focus in the dedicated roundtable sessions on the reviews of SDG 13 (Climate action) and SDG 16 (Peace, justice, and strong institutions) held on 22 February 2024.
On SDG 13, DENR Assistant Secretary Noralene Uy highlighted the Philippines' whole-of-society approach to advancing initiatives and policy frameworks in addressing climate change. Assistant Secretary Uy underscored that “stakeholder engagement will remain a critical component as [the Philippines] pursue climate ambition.”
Mr. Raymund John P. Rosuelo, Chief of Research and Knowledge Management Division, Commission on Human Rights, focused his intervention on SDG 16 on the partnership of the Commission on Human Rights with the National Statistics Office to support the data monitoring of the SDG 16 targets of the Philippines.
Assistant Secretary Uy and Mr. Rosuelo were selected among their peers to serve as rapporteurs of their respective SDG round tables at the plenary of the Forum.
DTI Undersecretary for MSME Ma. Christina Roque and Rep. Jose Manuel Alba (top photo) Rep. Cynthia Chan (lower left photo), and DTI Director Mr. James Empeño and DA’s Mr. Mark Twain Limbo (lower right photo) delivering statements at their respective side events
The Philippines was also well-represented at the side events organized during the 11th APFSD.
In a panel discussion on “education as a climate solution” held on 21 February 2024, Hon. Ma. Cynthia Chan, Representative of the Lone District of Lapu Lapu City and Vice-Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Welfare of the Children proudly shared the Philippines’ various ways to harness the power of education to help solve the climate crisis and invest in children as climate champions.
Hon. Jose Manuel Alba, Representative of the 1st District of Bukidnon and Vice Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, and Department of Trade Industry Undersecretary for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, Ma. Christina Roque contributed to a panel discussion on enabling social enterprises towards innovative solutions to eradicate poverty held on 22 February 2024.
Rep. Alba highlighted that social entrepreneurship can be incorporated into the education system to help transform the lives of marginalized sectors. Undersecretary Roque added that social entrepreneurship has proven that businesses can flourish and boost the economy while making a positive impact on the community and society.
Finally, the Philippines co-organized with the UNESCAP-Center for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) and the Government of Nepal a side event on “Increasing agricultural productivity through testing standards for sustainable agricultural machinery” on 23 February 2024. Mr. James Empeño, Director of DTI-Philippine Accreditation Bureau, and Mr. Mark Twain Limbo of DA-Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering, talked about the Philippines’ procedures in standardizing agricultural machinery to ensure their sustainability and improve farming processes to support food security.
The Philippines is actively engaged in the CSAM’s initiative, Asian and Pacific Network for Testing of Agricultural Machinery (ANTAM), which aims to promote harmonization of testing standards of agricultural machinery amongst participating countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
For more information on the 11th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, please visit: https://www.unescap.org/events/apfsd11. END
Photos by UNESCAP
DENR Assistant Secretary Noralene Uy (left photo) and Mr. Raymund John Rosuelo of the Commission on Human Rights (right photo) presenting to the plenary the key messages from the round table discussions for SDG 13 and SDG 16, respectively
