A sub-committee of the Senate will hear the debates for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, according to Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.
RCEP’s ratification has been pending at the chamber for more than a year now.
The panel will lead the hearing upon the instructions of Senator Imee Marcos, the chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Relations,” Pascual told reporters.
Pascual said he will be gracing the said meeting, but he did not provide details on the proposal.
Senator Marcos in December 2022 pushed for the creation of a technical working group that would report on the proposal to ratify RCEP, amid continued disagreements raised by the agriculture industry to the trade bloct.
Members of the TWG include representatives from the local agriculture sector, the Departments of Agriculture and Trade and Industry, the Bureau of Customs, the Tariff Commission, the Philippine Competition Commission and the National Economic and Development Authority.
RCEP is a free trade agreement that involves the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and dialogue partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
On Monday, Pascual stressed that RCEP remains important to the Philippines, as it is vital to the country is considered an ideal investment destination in the East and Southeast Asian region, as it assures investors that the country will remain an open market for trade and investment.
“True, our country has already implemented game-changing economic reforms. RCEP will complement these reforms and strengthen the country’s enabling environment for business. This regional pact will open a wide range of market opportunities for investors, particularly in export-oriented enterprises, in this era where the center of economic activities is in the region. The Philippines cannot afford not to be part of this mega free trade agreement,” Pascual said in a statement on Monday.
Further, he underlined that RCEP, like any other trade agreement, should be viewed not only in the context of market access but also in the aspect of stability of trade and investment rules.
Critically important
“The Philippines has only a few FTAs compared with other competing ASEAN countries. Suppose our country is seen to be reluctant to join this regional trade agreement spearheaded by ASEAN itself, such reluctance would pose many questions about the country’s trade policy direction,” the trade chief said.
RCEP is also seen to complement the country’s national policies and programs, including those in agriculture, MSMEs, services, e-commerce, intellectual property, competition and sustainable development.