By Paulo Loreto Lim

According to a release by the Bacolod City government, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) informed Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia that Bacolod City is the first local government unit (LGU) to promote awareness and implementation of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration.
“It is time to think ASEAN when we plan for development,” said the mayor. “We will now interact with the rest of Southeast Asia.”
“The integration of our country with nine other nations will mean that our horizons will widen,” Leonardia added. “We will have a new political and economic order.”
The upcoming MassKara Festival, with the theme “Bacolod: City of Southeast Asia,” is also intended to support ASEAN integration.
The Philippines currently chairs ASEAN, which coincides with the organization’s 50th anniversary./WDJ