SEOUL, 15 June 2016 - Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez, together with the Philippine delegation, attended the opening ceremony of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Expert Forum on Human Rights of Older Persons at the Four Seasons Hotel on 15 June 2016.

The Philippine delegation, composed of Undersecretary Florita R. Villar, Policy and Plans Group of the Department of Social Development and Welfare (DSWD) and SOM-SWD Leader, and Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), co-sponsored the Forum together with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK). Following the opening address delivered by NHRCK Chairperson Lee Sung-ho, Undersecretary Villar delivered the congratulatory address as well as presentations on the "Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Ageing: Empowering Older Persons in ASEAN," and on the Philippine Social Pension Scheme. The Forum was a follow up on the 2015 ASEM Conference on Global Ageing and Human Rights of Older Persons, held in Seoul in October 2015, which South Korea hosted as part of the ASEM Initiative on Global Ageing and Human Rights of Older Persons approved at the 10th ASEM Summit held in Milan in October 2014.