from businessworldonline:
DUE TO THE SEEMING inclination of the Senate to reject the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, or JPEPA, in its current form and push instead for renegotiation, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed an order forming an interagency task force that would work for ratification of the deal.
Protesters take part in a rally against the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement outside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Manila, in this photo taken yesterday, adding fuel to the growing questions in the Senate that could derail ratification of the pact in its original form.
Administrative Order 198, signed last Sept. 28, seeks to pool the resources of 18 government agencies to provide information about the advantages of approving the bilateral agreement, which drew flak from various sectors due to its supposed negative impact on the environment.
These agencies are the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Finance, Department of Health, Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation and Communication, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Securities and Exchange Commission, and Office of the Solicitor General.
“There is a need to create a task force composed of different government agencies which will be tasked to put forward to the Senate the benefits, advantages and opportunities to the Philippine economy of a bilateral agreement with Japan,” Mrs. Arroyo said in the order.
In a chance interview, Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita said the interagency body is tasked to come up with a better presentation to enable the senators to understand the benefits of the deal.
“The task force will create a better presentation for the senators. Why did I say better? Because the Senate has conducted two hearings [on the JPEPA] and, apparently, the senators are not yet convinced [that the deal entails net benefit for the country]. That is why the President has created this task force to focus on the ratification of JPEPA,” Mr. Ermita said.
“What has been in the mind-set of senators is the supposed dumping of toxic wastes in the country. They must show that the deal has a lot of benefits like better opportunities for Filipino workers, and investments. I think they should point out there are a lot of advantages.”
Mr. Ermita noted that the government has assured the Japanese government that it would strive to have the deal ratified.
Each government agency will have at least one representative who will be at least the third highest ranking official of the concerned agency. Other government offices may be invited to join the task force if deemed necessary.
The body will be headed by the representatives of the DFA and DTI.
The task force is tasked to coordinate with other government agencies to gather the necessary information to be presented to the Senate. It will also organize the resource documents pertinent to the hearings on JPEPA. Members are also required to attend the hearings.
The order likewise creates a Special Experts Panel on JPEPA, which will assist the task force in executing its functions. It shall be composed of officials and private individuals who have knowledge in law, international trade and economic cooperation. These shall be appointed by the members of the task force.
The funding for the task force shall come from the available funds of concerned agencies forming part of the task force.
Earlier, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Senate foreign relations committee chairman, said JPEPA “has a slim chance” of getting her committee’s nod as the resource persons who promoted the agreement failed to convince them about the deal’s benefits to the country.
She noted, for instance, that the jobs JPEPA is supposed to generate — which the Trade department estimated at around 221,000 — are merely “theoretical” estimates without concrete details to back them up.
JPEPA was signed by Mrs. Arroyo and then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Helsinki, Finland, in September last year.
It removes import tariffs on about 90% of goods and services traded between the two countries.
It requires the approval of the Philippine Senate and Japanese Diet before it can be implemented. The Diet ratified the deal in December last year.
It needs 17 votes at the Senate. The Senate is set to conduct two more hearings on the agreement before it decides the deal’s fate.
Ms. Santiago said the Senate hearings on JPEPA would end on Monday next week. — Alexis Douglas B. Romero
**
This pact is controversial. I haven’t done much readings on it but from what i know so far, it’s the biggest potential deal we would have with Japan. In fact, a few days ago, Japan sweetened the deal by increasing the investment they will make in some sectors.
Personally, I think it’s a good deal so long we receive assurance that no toxic stuff will be dumped to us or any of environmental resources be depleted because of it. If it’s really pure trade, reduction of tariffs and controls, i’m all for it. If it means job mobility for filipinos to work in Japan, why not? heck, i want to go work there too in the future. time to brush up on nihonggo. lol. I think Japan is a huge economy waiting to be tapped by us. They’re near to us and we have history with them. hence, we should cultivate this relationship more economically.
on a side note, i only recently realized how powerful the senate is. I mean, such trade pacts cannot be put to use if the senate does not ratify it.
