At the forefront of RP’s fight to become a better nation

For the legal profession, public service is foremost, and profit – a far second.Perhaps no other field of law has a greater impact on the lives of the public than international trade law.

Because of the Philippines’ international trade commitments, Filipino consumers have found themselves with better and cheaper choices, while farmers and local businessmen struggle to be more competitive, lest they find themselves out of business.

International trade law expert Jeremy Gatdula is among those who have been in the forefront of the country’s fight to become a better nation, a fight which can be oftentimes frustrating but can be very rewarding.

When a trial lawyer wins a case, he makes his client happy. When a corporate lawyer strikes a deal, he makes a corporate client richer. But when an international trade lawyer is able to get better terms and conditions for its relations with other nations, the entire country is benefitted.

But because of the complexities of the field, international economic lawyers have found the need to work with specialists from other fields. One of the most notable partnerships is that between lawyer Robert Hudec (one of the acknowledged fathers of international economic law) and economist Jagdish Bhagwati. Gatdula himself has found it essential to work with UA&P economist Raffy Madarang.

But contrary to what others might think, the constant battle which international trade lawyers are engaged in is actually the fight of an entire nation. Sadly, many would rather be in the audience, booing and cheering depending on whether one has been tagged a nationalist or a protectionist (a stereotyping which Gatdula describes as counter-productive and useless).

According to Gatdula, Filipinos should realize that international trade and overall economic policy affects every facet of their lives and that the connections that bind them to other people and events in the world are there and are substantial. “There is therefore a great need for people, especially the young, while not necessarily having international trade as a career, to really understand the world in which their country is in,” he said.

The 37-year-old Gatdula, a lawyer specializing in international economic law and the World Trade Organization, notes that everybody must be made to understand that all have a responsibility to bear and that the success or failure of the nation (and consequently of ourselves) lies not in the goodwill of foreigners or the benignity of the local elite but in ourselves.

“This is one of the lessons that globalization seeks to bring and which a lot of our people have been deprived of understanding by those people with vested interests who stand to lose out in a more open Philippines,” he emphasized.

But the days are gone when trade matters are better left to lawyers and economists. Gatdula says everybody should realize that success bears a price, that failures do bring consequences, and thus there is a need for everyone to work together — government and the private sector, the academe and NGOs — to gather data, study the needs of business here and now, and formulate a cohesive and comprehensive plan (that is to be executed consistently and relentlessly) that will serve the national interest as opposed to merely serving the interests of a few companies or families.

According to Gatdula, also a professor of international law  at the Arellano University and the Ateneo,  the youth should realize what a great country they have, and that it is to their advantage to love it, work for it, fight for it. “We have values, a way of life, a way of doing things, a history, a culture, that is never ever second to none. We should not think of ourselves or what we have as lesser to the Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Koreans, or Chinese for the simple reason that we are not,” he said.

He adds that while globalization indeed encourages people to take advantage of the best of what the world has to offer, it would not work for them until they realize that — ironically — having a strong country and love for it is essential to being a successful global citizen.

“We should have real pride in being Filipino, to see the Philippines as something greater than our individual selves. We have the option of hiding from the challenges of the world or of confronting it. To be a Filipino means going out and meeting those challenges even if such means to pay the price of suffering, to live with risks, and bear the weight of responsibility because what is at stake is something greater than all of us and our present troubles: a better country and a world more respectful of our children, our values, and our way of life,” he stressed.

Throughout his career, Gatdula who earned his masteral degree in international law from the University of Cambridge, has advised clients (including governments, multinational corporations, and industry associations) on issues relating to the WTO and the ASEAN, including trade remedies, strategic trade planning, international dispute settlement, and trade advocacy.

In November 2000, wishing to give full attention to the highly specialized field of international economic law, he accepted his appointment as legal counsel of the WTO/AFTA/APEC Advisory Commission under the Office of the President, a position he held until the end of 2002. He worked closely with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of International Trade Relations on WTO matters and has represented the Philippines in several international trade disputes. He was part of the Philippine delegation — as adviser — to the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Cancun, Mexico.