The Senate on Tuesday ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), one of the priority bills of the Marcos administration.
Voting 20-1-1, the Senators passed on the third and final reading of Senate Resolution 485, the mega free agreement trade. The ratification was sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
RCEP is a free trade agreement among Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It took effect in January last year.
Senators Risa Hontiveros voted against it while Imee Marcos abstained.
Zubiri said the agreement is foreseen to generate 1.4 million jobs for Filipinos as it updates the coverage of existing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) FTAs and takes into account emerging trade issues such as electronic commerce, competition, intellectual property, and government procurement.
Not convinced
According to Hontiveros, she was not convinced that RCEP would benefit the country, especially the farmers, fisherfolk, trade unions, health advocates, and fair trade advocates nationwide.
She was also not "persuaded that the health and security exception sufficiently protects our citizens from the onslaught of tobacco and formula milk advertisements."
"I note that various EU countries in their liberalization of advertising services in the WTO also explicitly excluded tobacco advertising, even though they could have used the health and security exemptions cited by our resource persons. Hindi natin ito ginawa, and I worry that the consequences may be grave and inter-generational," the senator said.
Hontiveros also cited the findings of Dr. Caesar Cororaton, a senior research fellow at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States, saying that the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modeling he used has already been discredited for its unrealistic assumptions.
Lastly, Hontiveros mentioned that 131 organizations comprised of farmers, fisherfolk, trade unions, health advocates, and fair trade advocates nationwide were not ready for the agreement.
"These represent millions of Filipinos who say that our country is not ready for this deal, that we already obtain the benefits from our other agreements, and that we even stand to lose," she said.
"The calculations for me are simple, Mr. President. Dapa na po ang ating agrikultura. Hindi pa tayo nakakaahon sa pandemya. This is not the time for RCEP," she added.
Effect to farmers
Marcos, on the other hand, said she abstained from voting because she was thinking about the effect of RCEP on farmers.
“I would like to stress that my worry is brought by my principle, not because I’m the sister of someone powerful, but because of my father’s legacy which is to prioritize the marginalized — farmers and the needy,” she said.
"Allow me to abstain from voting, not because I am avoiding my duty, but because until now, most of those in the farms and fields are frustrated," she added.
House adopts
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution that expresses its support for the immediate ratification of the RCEP.
According to the resolution, the agreement "will encourage foreign investments in the Philippines and allow greater participation in the areas of digital services, business process outsourcing industry, financial services, aerospace, shipbuilding, research and development, and many others."
It added that by immediately ratifying the agreement, "the Philippines can sooner benefit and take the advantages of this mega-trade deal that could attract more foreign investors, create more job opportunities and curb the unemployment and poverty rates in the country."
The Philippines signed the agreement on Nov. 15, 2020.
