ASEAN official sees Philippines ratifying RCEP before yearend

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary General Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi expressed optimism Tuesday that the Philippines will be able to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership within the year.

“All of us have ratified it except…we have to wait for the Philippines to ratify the agreement. We are very confident that the Philippines will ratify the agreement by the end of this year,” Lim said during the 11th Editors’ Roundtable organized by Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia and Khmer Times.

The RCEP is a trade accord that involves the 10 ASEAN members along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

It seeks to liberalize trade in goods and services by eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers, among others.

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 but some experts said the Philippines’ agriculture sector is grossly unprepared for RCEP and further liberalization.

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

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who previously voiced his concern about the trade agreement, said in September that RCEP will be one of the priorities of the Senate once it passed the proposed 2023 national budget.

Senate leaders confirmed this Tuesday in separate messages to GMA News Online.

Sought for comment, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said: “Yes we will pass it when we get back.”

Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said the ratification of the RCEP remains a priority for the Senate, especially after the LEDAC (Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council) meeting “but we are equally keen on finishing the deliberations on the 2023 national budget.”

“Nevertheless, we will do our best to finish everything we can by the end of the year. Actually after talking to a majority of our colleagues in the Senate, many of them expressed their support for the RCEP or are at least open to its ratification. We share the view that our country can benefit from the preferential rates and other incentives under the agreement,” he added.

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III also said that “after the budget we can take up RCEP.”

The ASEAN secretary general also expressed confidence that companies have started using RCEP, adding that they are monitoring how the agreement is being utilized by the business community.

“There is always a room for improvement based on what they have felt in the early stages of the implementation and we need to reach out to the business people to make sure that they really understand how to implement the agreement,” he said.

Lim further said they need to keep monitoring and promoting RCEP to private sector to enhance utilization rates and to stage time for the latter to understand the rules of the agreement and to adjust their business processes in accordance to the rules.

He urged the RCEP parties to promptly and faithfully implement the commitment they have made including building agenda as well as actively pursuing economic and technical cooperation

Lim said RCEP parties should encourage other economies to join the agreement to promote and maximize the gains from economic integration.

“We should set aside geopolitical concern and focus on economic benefit from RCEP especially in strengthening supply chain to achieve more inclusive growth,” he said.—With Hana Bordey/LDF, GMA News

NOTE: This story was produced during 11th Editors' Roundtable organized by Economic Research Institute for ASEAN.