VIENTIANE—President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged other Southeast Asian nations to be more firm in fighting transnational crime, amid the pressing problem of illegal drugs and terrorism.
“The Asean needs stronger resolve and action to combat transnational crime, one of the most difficult and complex problems that we face in the region and a pressing concern for the Philippines,” Duterte said in his speech before members of the Asean Business and Advisory Council at the Muong Thanh Hotel here.
“The trade in illicit and illegal drugs in particular has emerged as a pressing problem for our country’s undermined social cohesion and the rule of law in the socioeconomic program of the country,” he added.
Duterte, who won with a landslide win during the May elections, is under the spotlight of fierce international scrutiny for allegedly condoning state-sanctioned rights abuses, in his “war on drugs” that has claimed almost 3,000 lives already.
The President had earlier revealed a list of politicians and members of the uniformed force which are allegedly part of the illegal drug menace in the country.
Just recently, an explosion was heard at the Roxas night market in Davao City, where Duterte served as its mayor for more than two decades, with links to be perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf.
Duterte said that terrorism and violent extremism “rearing its ugly heads” is threatening to pull the country “back from our onwards advance to progress.”
“We shall not be cowed. We will press on. We must redouble our efforts to concentrate on intelligence gathering, prevention, interdiction, arrest and prosecution,” he said.
“We should act together in concert to ensure that economic gains we made so far will advance at full speed so that Asean can confidently play its rightful role as a global player, contributing to the economic growth and prosperity.”
Duterte also pushed for sub-regional cooperation among Southeast Asian nations to help spur local economies.
“Hailing from Mindanao, I commit to promote BIMP-EAGA. We intend to open up our other major islands like Mindanao and the Visayas with high-quality backbone infrastructures,” Duterte said.
Duterte said that he would accelerate infrastructure spending in the country, “by improving national roads and bridges such as the Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network and other network master plans, including the inter-island linkages.”
Duterte vowed to expand further “our roll-on, roll-off facility to Davao, General Santos and Bitong in Indonesia.”
The BIMP-EAGA was established in 1994 to promote cooperation among regions that are distant from their capitals but strategically close to each other. Mindanao and Palawan are included in the sub-region, according to the Asian Development Bank.
Duterte also called on ASEAN to help boost small and micro-enterprises while pursuing free trade agreements.
“We will work and collaborate with ASEAN in helping the MSMEs look for ways to connect them in the countries of the ASEAN and the world. We will work on enhancing the policy and regulatory environment, providing an affordable and innovative digital platform, and accessing best practices and financial resources,” he said.
The ten-member regional bloc currently has free trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India and Korea.
