Manila, March 5 -- The Philippines is leading efforts to establish a regional roadmap that would facilitate a more timely and effective access to emergency support among the 11 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in times of disasters and extreme weather events.

The Philippine-initiated Manila-ASEAN Strategic Protocol for Emergency and Comprehensive Transformation (ASPECT) Framework is one of the many outcome documents the country is pushing for ASEAN adoption before it caps its bloc chairship this 2026.

In a press conference after the week-long ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) meetings in Makati on Thursday, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said ASPECT wil...