Formation of ASEAN parliament urged

Formation of ASEAN parliament urged

MANILA (Reuter): The Philippines yesterday called for the
formation of a regional parliament to pass laws to combat the
spread of AIDS and drug addiction.

Congress Speaker Jose de Venecia urged parliamentarians from
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to study the
feasibility of setting up an ASEAN parliament by the turn of the
century.

He made the proposal in a speech at the opening of the 15th
annual meeting of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization.

"The need for a supra-national legislature in ASEAN in the
near future is on its way to acceptance," he said. A parliament
"will certainly hasten ASEAN's full integration".

He said a regional legislature could pass laws on problems
facing all ASEAN members: the environment, drug abuse and
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

"An ASEAN parliament would also be a good forum for agreeing
on an ASEAN position on global issues like the GATT agreements on
trade and tariffs," de Venecia said.