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MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Thursday said she will recommend Senate concurrence for the ratification of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charter next month.
Santiago, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, said she would make her pitch when she submits the committee’s report next month.
At the end of a public hearing on the matter, Santiago said she expects the ASEAN charter’s ratification before the regional bloc holds its summit in Bangkok in December.
"If all 10 member-states ratify the charter by December, it will enter into force in 2009," the senator said.
Although it helped lead the way in crafting the charter, the Philippines is one of three ASEAN countries that have not yet ratified the regional bloc's constitution.
The two others, Thailand and Indonesia, have not been able to do so because their parliaments have not yet convened.
During the hearing, quarters opposed to the ASEAN charter criticized the document principally for what they called its lack of provisions to sanction violators, as well as for provisions on non-interference and consensus.
The critics said this shows ASEAN's weakness in making Myanmar, which is ruled by a military junta, adhere to the roadmap of democracy the country promised to undertake, including the release of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"No wonder that Burma was among the first to ratify…The Charter does not have enough collective teeth to discipline Burma," said Akbayan party-list chairperson emeritus Loretta Rosales.
Burma is the traditional name of Myanmar.
Ambassador Rosario Manalo, chairperson of the ASEAN charter task force, which drafted the document, said the document is not about Myanmar, but the building of a region.
She said the non-interference provision cannot be removed from the charter because it goes to the heart of the jurisdictional sovereignty of all countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
"Consensus is the way of life in ASEAN. It is the earmark of the region. It is Southeast Asia," she said.
Manalo also defended ASEAN in its handling of Myanmar.
She said that at the height of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar caused by a typhoon, it was the ASEAN that convinced the junta to open the country to foreign aid.
"Not even the United Nations, which is made up of 197 countries, was able to convince Myanmar to do so…This is a positive engagement," she said.
Professor Noel Morada, of the University of the Philippines' College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, criticized the charter for the lack of public consultations in its making.
William Gois, regional coordinator of the Migrant Forum in Asia, said this is the reason why the peoples of ASEAN are not familiar with the regional bloc.
Manalo explained that the charter is a step forward to the creation of the ASEAN Community, which economically can stand stronger together against emerging economic powerhouses China and India, and be competitive alongside Japan and South Korea.
ASEAN groups together Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Philippines first proposed the ASEAN charter in the 1970s. It is now also drafting the terms of reference for the creation of the ASEAN human rights body.
Santiago said she does not see any strong opposition to the charter in the Senate.
She said she hopes to be able to convince Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who has very strong opinions against Myanmar, about the charter’s being a means to engage the junta.
