The Philippines’ top diplomat led a humanitarian mission to Myanmar this week. The initiative aims to reach 11,000 remote households in the conflict-torn country.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro visited the country as Myanmar special envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines currently chairs the regional bloc.
Myanmar is one of the group’s eleven member states. The nation has faced diplomatic rebukes since its army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and the military takeover plunged the country into a civil war that has displaced millions.
The ASEAN Monitoring Team Mission stayed in Myanmar until Thursday. Officials visited Kayin State, Southern Shan State, and Northern Shan State during the trip.
“The Mission distributed bags of rice, family kits and personal hygiene kits to internally displaced persons,” Lazaro wrote on X. She said the trip marked the start of a month-long humanitarian operation targeting communities in areas not previously reached by the AHA Centre.
The AHA Centre coordinates ASEAN’s humanitarian operations. The organisation will work with the Myanmar Red Cross Society to distribute 50-kilogram bags of rice and other essential items through November, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Lazaro was also expected to lead a symbolic handover of a religious building during her visit. She planned to deliver learning kits to schools affected by an earthquake last year in central Myanmar.
It was not immediately clear if Lazaro would hold meetings with top Myanmar officials. But Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Naing Min Kyaw welcomed the delegation when the mission team arrived in Naypyitaw on Wednesday evening, according to a Myanmar Foreign Affairs Ministry statement.
The trip precedes an ASEAN leaders summit in Manila next month. The bloc continues to press for progress on its 2021 Five-Point Consensus, which calls for Myanmar to end ongoing violence, conduct inclusive national dialogue, and allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance without discrimination.
Over 4.1 million people were displaced inside Myanmar as of October. This is a sharp increase from around 671,000 in 2021, according to UN refugee agency data.
Lazaro made her first visit to Myanmar as special envoy in January. She met Min Aung Hlaing, a former military chief inaugurated as president in April, to discuss the country’s political situation and the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus.
