TAGUIG CITY, April 6 -- The Philippines, through the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), has assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC), the group leading the bloc to fulfill its 2025 goal of driving economic prosperity in the region through intellectual property (IP). IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba officially took the helm of the AWGIPC last March 25 during a virtual turnover ceremony. In his acceptance speech, Barba committed to accelerate the completion of remaining deliverables under the ASEAN IP Rights Action Plan 2016-2025 by enabling more cooperation activities within the bloc and with ASEAN dialogue partners.