Senate yet to ratify RCEP due to concerns for agri sector — Zubiri

The Senate is yet to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) due to some concerns on its effect on the agriculture sector, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Tuesday.

In an interview with reporters, Zubiri said RCEP is among the topics that he discussed with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Speaker Martin Romualdez in a meeting over the weekend.

"Ang sabi ko naman kay Presidente, 'yung sa RCEP, I want to put in on the floor pero may concerns pa kasi si (Senator) Imee Marcos," he said.

(I told the President that I want to put it on the floor but Senator Imee Marcos has some concerns on RCEP.)

Last week, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) released a statement indicating that President Marcos is pushing for the ratification of the free trade agreement.

Senator Marcos, the President's older sister, chairs the Senate foreign relations committee which is in charge of deliberating all agreements and treaties that need to be ratified.

According to Zubiri, Senator Marcos wants to conduct another hearing due to her concerns for the agriculture sector.

"We are pushing her to bring it out as soon as we can," said the Senate president.

The RCEP is a free trade agreement first floated in August 2012, covering members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.

To recall, Zubiri said in November that the President's economic managers have not formally endorsed yet the RCEP to the Senate for its concurrence.

In December of last year, Senator Marcos called for the establishment of a technical working group in order to produce a committee report on the ratification of the RCEP.

The Senate president also mentioned that several countries have been pushing for the ratification of RCEP during the President's overseas trips.

"I have to put on record, we're the only country [that has yet] to ratify RCEP. Lahat ng ikot ng Presidente, bukambibig ng mga bansa, 'Bakit hindi pa kayo nakapasok sa RCEP,' which is basically good for our manufacturing, for our exports, to our semiconductors so we can export in and out these countries, over a dozen countries in the region that are already in RCEP," Zubiri said.

(In his recent trips, other countries have been asking the President why RCEP is still not ratified in the Philippines.)

"So they are really trying to push us to ratify it. We just need to make sure that there are safeguards for the agri sector but I am in total favor for the passage of the RCEP," he added.

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

Before he assumed office, the President had expressed his reservations on the ratification of RCEP in which the Philippines is a signatory.

Marcos earlier said he wants to look at how RCEP will impact the country’s agriculture sector.—AOL, GMA Integrated News