MANILA, Jun 5 (NNN-PNA) – The economic team of the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, vowed to push for the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the world’s largest free trade area, representing 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor, Benjamin Diokno, the incoming finance secretary, told a recent local media interview, RCEP is the first order of business of the incoming administration.
Marcos will assume office on Jun 30, replacing incumbent President, Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte ratified RCEP in Sept, last year.
In the Philippines, treaties or international agreements entered into by the government require Senate concurrence.
However, the Senate failed to ratify the agreement, when it adjourned its last session on Wednesday. Some senators defer the voting due to concerns over the lack of safeguards for the agriculture sector.
The next Congress will now be up to tackle RCEP when the session opens in late July.
The RCEP, which entered into force on Jan 1, is a trade agreement involving Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Aside from the Philippines, only two other countries have not yet ratified the RCEP – Indonesia and Myanmar.
Marcos earlier said, he wants a review of RCEP to determine whether the agriculture sector is adequately protected.
“Let’s have a look at it again and make sure that the agriculture sector is adequately protected when RCEP is ratified,” he told reporters last month, stressing the need to ensure that the sector is ready to compete.
Since Jan, the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry and several business groups, urged the Philippine Senate to ratify the country’s membership in the RCEP quickly.
Two days before the Senate adjourned on Wednesday, Philippine Trade Secretary, Ramon Lopez, and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, Karl Kendrick Chua, briefed the Senate again in a last-ditch effort to urge the lawmakers to ratify the RCEP, given its urgency and substantial benefits to the country.
Officials said, RCEP covers roughly 50.4 percent of the Philippines’ export markets, 67.3 percent of the country’s import sources, and a source of 58 percent of foreign direct investments.– NNN-PNA
