DFA pushes JPEPA ratification
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:57:00 03/28/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement should be ratified because it is “good for the country and for our people,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said Friday.
“I believe it should be ratified. I believe it is good for the country and for our people. It will open markets for us, services and, I understand also from the senators when I talked to them, they said we have to approve it because if we do not approve it, if we do not ratify it, then it will not be good,” he said.
Romulo said the conditional concurrence recommended by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who chairs the foreign relations committee, is being discussed in the Senate.
“I have great confidence in Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who is the chairman, a constitutional authority. In fact, she's our candidate to the International Court of Justice. And so let's follow the actions in Senate foreign relations committee. And I understand that they are working on that, including the committee report,” he said.
Asked if he has discussed the proposal with the Japanese ambassador, he said: “I think they are discussing this with the senators themselves.”
Romulo reiterated the DFA position for a swift ratification of the agreement that encompasses trade, investment, agriculture, and labor relations between the two countries.
“Our position as I said is that we want this pass the constitutional aspect, the legal aspect of course the Senate has to look at that. I believe that our contracting countries…cannot violate any constitutional [provisions],” he said.
The JPEPA has generated a stir among environmental and activist groups over provisions allowing for trade in trash. Anti-JPEPA advocates have also pointed out that some parts of the treaty violate the Philippine constitutional requirement for Filipinos-only control over exploitation of natural resources.
Earlier, Santiago said she has scheduled the discussion of the conditional concurrence resolution that she is preparing for April 28, about a week after Congress resumes its session after a month-long recess.
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