Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” L. Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) is among the House members who will represent the Philippines at the 47th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) General Assembly, which the House of Representatives hosts in Manila from November 16 to 22.
Benitez sits on the Philippine delegation to the Committee on Social Matters, serves as head of delegation for the Philippines’ dialogue with Bahrain, and is part of the Philippine delegation to the Young Parliamentarians of AIPA (YPA), a press release from his office said Sunday, November 15.
As head of delegation for the dialogue with Bahrain, one of AIPA’s Observer Parliaments, Benitez will lead the Philippine side when the assembly holds its dialogue with AIPA Observer Parliaments on November 19, the press release said.
The YPA brings together younger lawmakers from AIPA Member Parliaments. Its 2nd Roundtable Discussion, set Tuesday, November 17, in conjunction with the Assembly, focuses on youth and climate action.
At the Committee on Social Matters, Benitez joins Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, who leads the delegation as dead of delegation, with Rep. Keith Flores and Rep. Johanne Monich Bautista. The committee meets on November 19 with lawmakers from across Southeast Asia.
The committee is set to take up draft resolutions on topics including health care coverage, older persons, migrant workers, education during disasters, and regional cooperation against drug trafficking and related crimes.
The Philippines is sponsoring two of these measures, including strengthening the protection of ASEAN migrant workers and access to education and continuity of learning for vulnerable and underprivileged sectors during disasters.
These assignments build on Benitez’s work on climate resilience in the House, the press release said.
During the bicameral conference on the 2026 national budget, he spoke in support of Php1 billion for Project NOAH, the country’s disaster risk reduction program, an amount that was included in the final budget.
He also filed House Bill No. 2577, which seeks to convert the UP Resilience Institute into the UP National Climate Resilience Institute, a permanent, publicly funded hub to support national and local risk planning.
“We are grateful to be part of the Philippine delegation. We carry the voice of the Third District and of every Filipino family these resolutions touch,” Benitez said.
The 47th General Assembly is held under the theme “Parliaments Securing a Peaceful, Prosperous, and People-Centered ASEAN.”
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III presides as AIPA President for 2026, the seventh time the Philippines has held the AIPA presidency since the organization was founded in Manila in 1977.
The Assembly is also expected to admit Timor-Leste as AIPA’s 11th Member Parliament formally.
Dy said the Assembly gives lawmakers a venue to compare their countries’ experiences, examine laws that have worked elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and agree on steps they can pursue in their own legislatures.
Resolutions approved by the committees will be presented to the assembly’s plenary for adoption. *
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