Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7) — Despite being chairperson of the Senate committee on foreign affairs, Senator Imee Marcos refuses to shepherd the possible ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement opposed by various agriculture groups.
\”Merong kung anong pwersa na nag-uudyok na madaliin ang RCEP,\” Marcos said in a statement after the first committee hearing on it on Tuesday.
[Translation: There’s a force urging the railroading of RCEP.]
\”Bilang isang probinsiyana, anak ng agrikultura, hindi kaya ng aking konsensiya na tayuan ang RCEP kung padadapain nito ang ating mga kababayan,\” she added.
[Translation: As somebody from the province, a child of agriculture, my conscience can’t support RCEP if it would cause the downfall of our fellow Filipinos.]
She said this is why she proposed the creation of a subcommittee on RCEP, led by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, to take on the task.
Marcos echoed concerns of local industries battered by smuggling, hoarding, and sabotage, saying the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Customs, and the Department of Trade and Industry all failed to address the issues.
In response, Senate President Juan \”Miguel\” Zubiri said the problems of the agriculture sector \”will never end.\” He noted that President Ferdinand \”Bongbong\” Marcos, Jr., the senator’s brother, still concurrently serves as Agriculture Secretary.
\”I think they should have a long talk together, the two of them,\” Zubiri told reporters.
Legarda presided over Tuesday’s hearing, but even she had reservations, as agriculture groups lamented how the RCEP would result in further importation.
Under RCEP, member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its trade partners can import goods and services from each other at low to zero tariff. Among ASEAN countries, only the Philippines has not ratified the free trade deal.
The Department of Trade and Industry assured stakeholders that \”sensitive\” products such as onions, rice, and sugar will be exempted from the reduction of tariffs to protect local produce. But the Federation of Free Farmers called this explanation \”deceptive,\” saying the country would still import these products.
Legarda, for her part, asked for clear-cut guidelines on how the government would support the agriculture sector.
\”They do not believe us anymore, so you have to convince them,\” Legarda said. \”So you have to draft for me — assuming I will accept ha, hindi ko pa tinatanggap ito [I haven’t accepted this yet], and assuming we will ratify and concur the guidelines.\”
Legarda adjourned the first and last hearing after four hours — excluding the hour-long break when she and Zubiri left the committee room for a closed-door meeting with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
