Ratify JPEPA

Awaiting ratification by the Senate is the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) which was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Helsinki during the European leg of her four-nation trip last September.

Understandably, because of its far-reaching significance, the Senate has taken time to approve the agreement. Its importance, is, however, precisely why the government wants legislative action to get the JPEPA off the ground.

Sen. Mar Roxas used to oppose JPEPA, but after taking a closer look at the agreement, he reportedly realized that the  country stands to gain more by implementing it than rejecting it.

The senator says the JPEPA will encourage more agricultural production from the Philippines for export to Japan, thus increasing employment in the rural areas and bring more income to the farmers and their families.

It will also increase Philippine trade with Japan, which is one of the largest economies, and the second biggest market for Filipino products. Hence, the senator says, local industrial production will also be encouraged. This will mean more employment, especially in the urban areas.

 With the United States, currently the Philippines’ biggest market, on the verge of a recession, only Japan offers a more secure and reliable market for Philippine exports. Agreement proponents are one in saying that Japan could be “the savior of the Philippines in a failing global market.”

According to proponents, the agreement will bestow great economic benefits to the Filipino people with virtually no losses. For the Philippines and Japan, it is a win-win agreement.

Bolstering that claim is a study showing that investments of up to $444 million would pour into the Philippines from Japan once the JPEPA is ratified by the Senate. This would result in 100,000 to 150,000 new jobs in four industries alone, namely, automotive, furniture, electronics and semi-conductors.

The study, conducted by five local trade organizations and labor unions, also shows that another $750 million in new wealth would be created in the upstream industries such as mining, power, and production of raw materials. In addition, the new investments would establish the Philippines as a strategic hub for more foreign direct investments.

At the same time, Japan, which is said to have a closed door policy against foreign labor, will open its borders for employment of Filipino professionals and skilled specialists, including nurses, caregivers, information technology technicians, lawyers, accountants and teachers.

Moreover, assures our source, under JPEPA’s provisions, Filipino employees and workers would get “national treatment” in Japan. This means Filipinos shall be entitled to the same terms and conditions of work enjoyed by Japanese nationals doing the same type of work under the same conditions.

Japan’s relaxed attitude towards accepting foreign labor under the agreement is due to Filipinos’ are noted for their industry and resiliency. Added to that is it’s experiencing a falling  birth rate and therefore its need for more labor from abroad to man its manufacturing and service industries as well as to take care of the aging population.

In the area of trade, the agreement provides for reduction or elimination of tariff on Philippine agricultural products exported to Japan. Tropical fruits and marine products from the Philippines would enter the Japanese market tariff-free, while current Philippine exports of Cavendish bananas, pineapples and mangoes will have a guaranteed market in Japan. This, according to our source, would be “a bonanza to our farmers and fishermen who will receive higher income from their exports of agricultural and marine products to Japan.”

Supporters of the treaty are the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Exporters Federation, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Federation of Free Workers, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, and other labor organizations.

*     *     *

 Those opposed to the ratification of the treaty are headed by former Sen. Wigberto Tañada, lead convenor of the multi-sectoral Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade), who said he was hoping that Senator Roxas, after several public hearings on JPEPA, would be able “to see the economic balances in the treaty and the serious constitutional flaws, and that the (treaty) would be inferior to the agreements entered into by Japan with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. What we want is a win-win situation, a mutually beneficial economic partnership.”

 Tañada said “we are not against economic partnership with any country, in this case Japan, But we must be cautious about entering into these trade arrangements so that in the end it will truly serve and support the national development agenda of the country.”

 Fair Trade also argued that “it is not true that more market opening will happen if there is JPEPA, in fact as of now closer to 8 percent of Philippine exports to Japan are already enjoying duty-free access to Japan, whether there is JPEPA  or not. On the other hand, local industries will suffer because JPEPA allows the entry of used clothing (ukay-ukay) and second-hand vehicles to the Philippines.

“That is why from the very start the position of the Alliance is to renegotiate the treaty because of these inherent economic and constitutional questions. The Senate must correct these patently one-sided contents in JPEPA so that it will effectively benefit Philippine industries and the Filipino people.”

The Senate is urged to look at the pros and cons of JPEPA as soon as possible in order to see what is good for the Filipino people. Tañada said that Japan, on the other hand, “must understand and see that the Philippines is not asking for more than what it already gave to the other Asian countries. The Philippines is not being unreasonable.”

*     *     *

My e-mail:[email protected]