Marcos' economic managers yet to endorse RCEP to Senate —Zubiri

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s economic managers have yet to formally endorse the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to the Senate for its concurrence, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.

"I had a short discussion with the secretary earlier in my office. Apparently, there have been no formal letters or endorsement of RCEP with this administration except that the president was the one who asked me to pass it," Zubiri said during the Senate plenary debates on the Department of Finance's (DOF) proposed budget for 2023.

"Unfortunately, I guess his underlings have not sent us a formal notice to tackle this particular treaty," he added.

Since the treaty is supported by the DOF and the National Economic Development Authority, Zubiri asked if the agency heads can urge their colleagues to work on the endorsement of the RCEP to the Senate.

"Baka pwede nilang isindi yung ilalim ng upuan ng dalawang ahensya," Zubiri said, but he did not specify which departments are not working on the RCEP endorsement to the upper house.

"As compared to the last administration, we would see [former Secretary] Mon Lopez here of the [Department of Trade and Industry] all the time," Zubiri went on. "This time no one is following it up with us. I'm the one that's nahihiya na."

Senator Sonny Angara, who was sponsoring the proposed budget of the DOF, said the ball is in the court of the Executive Department and it is they who should make the request.

"We can't act on anything that is not on our table," Zubiri said, responding to Angara.

The Senate chief then urged the DOF to "act on it" as the Philippines is one of the last states in the region that have yet to ratify the trade accord.

"Apparently, we are the only one left in the region that has not signed it and everybody whom we talked to, the parliamentarians from ASEAN and other countries, are wondering why we have not concurred with the ratification here in the Senate," Zubiri said.

At the end of the discussion, Angara said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told him that he will confer with his colleagues in the Executive Department to "accelerate the process."

In September, Marcos said the Senate will tackle the RCEP once the 2023 national budget is passed by Congress.

Treaties or international agreements entered into by the government require Senate concurrence.

The RCEP is a trade agreement that involves the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the RCEP will generate a 10.47% increase in the country’s exports and a 2.02% increase in real gross domestic product.

Marcos had previously voiced his concerns about the trade agreement, saying that he did not know if the nation's agriculture industry was strong enough to withstand the competition that opening markets would bring about.—LDF, GMA News