‘PH can’t be a North Korea in Asean:’ Zubiri, Legarda trumpet RCEP benefits

RCEP COUNTRIES INCREASE EXPORTS: Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri, sponsor of Senate Resolution No. 485, concurring in ratifying the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), continues to defend the proposed measure Tuesday, February 21, 2023. Senate PRIB file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is not a “magic pill” that will solve the country’s problems, especially in the agriculture sector, but the Philippines could not also be like a “North Korea” in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Senate leaders said on Friday.

“Hindi po tayo pwedeng maging isolationist. Ibig ko pong sabihin parang North Korea, hindi po tayo pwedeng parang North Korea sa Asean,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said in a joint press conference attended by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

(We could not be an isolationist. We could not be like North Korea in Asean.)

“We have to join the largest trading group to avail of  all the benefits for our people,” Zubiri added.

Dubbed the world’s biggest free trade agreement, RCEP is seen to create 1.4 million jobs for Filipinos by 2031.

The Senate has just recently concurred with the Philippines’ ratification of the agreement among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.

But the country’s entry to this largest trade body does not mean the lives of Filipinos would automatically improve if the same problems like smuggling persist, Legarda said.

“Hindi po magic pill itong RCEP. Hindi rin magic pill yung mga program ng gobyerno…”  Legarda said in the same presscon.

(RCEP is not a magic pill. Other programs of government are also not a magic pill)

“Hindi sapat na pumasok ng RCEP,  ah baka umasenso na ang buhay ng Pilipino. Hindi po e,” she went on.

(I’t not enough that we enter into an RCEP. Just because you joined RCEP, the lives of Filipinos will improve. No.)

“Kung patuloy pa rin ang smuggling, kung mismanaged pa rin ang sector sa agrikultura, kung kulang tayo ng suporta sa magsasaka at mangingisda, kung hindi natin lalakihan ang investment sa agrikultura…Kung ang DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) ay di rin gagawin ng husay ang shared services at saka ease of doing business and all of these, then it would not be successful.”

(If smuggling  continues, the agriculture sector is still mismanaged, if the farmers and fishermen still lack our support, if we will not invest more in agriculture, if the DTI will not improve its shared services and ease of business, it will not be successful.)

Not just one free trade agreement, she stressed,  could change  “the way things are in our country…”

“It’s a whole-of-government approach,” Legarda said.

Pascual, for his part, explained that RCEP is “not just a simple trade agreement providing enhanced market access and a stable regulatory framework.”

“It is a strategic tool in ensuring the region’s continued economic advantage and will help maintain a balance of power within the region,” he said. “On this note, the Philippines must make its mark in the region.”

The DIT chief then enumerated some of the benefits of the agreement:

• RCEP promotes the economic efficiency of member states, including the Philippines.
• It strengthens linkages in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, and agriculture.
• It reinforces MSME’s  (micro, small and medium enterprises) participation in the global value chain network.
• Through improved market access for goods and services as well as stable and predictable rules, RCEP provides a platform to encourage more investments in the country.
• It provides a framework of rules and disciplines to ensure regulatory consistency, creating a conducive environment that is key to ensuring the confidence of the business sector, and spurring further economic growth.
• It enhances market access. This is particularly important since a number of Philippine products will gain enhanced market access in terms of tariffs and rules of origin given the wider cumulative area under RCEP.
• It seeks to strengthen and create a more transparent trading system, and enhance existing linkages of the Philippines to the global value chain.
• RCEP would make our exports (including electronics and agricultural products) become more competitive as intermediate goods are used as inputs for further production and manufacturing becomes less expensive.

JPV/abc