Bantay JPEPA Gov’t set to review JPEPA
| Gov’t set to review JPEPA |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by By GENALYN KABILING July 8, 2010, 6:29pm http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/265914/gov-t-set-review-jpepa |
| Friday, 09 July 2010 01:24 |
|
The Aquino government is planning to review the implementation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) forged by the previous administration a few years ago. President Noynoy Aquino said it was time to find out if the trade deal, signed in September 2006 and approved by Philippine Congress in 2008, has mutually benefited the country and not only Japan. “We were promised, more than anything, that we would get a lot of benefits from the JPEPA. We are in the period when we can determine if we have received these benefits,” he said in a press conference at the Palace last Wednesday. The trade agreement, which underwent a strict scrutiny from Filipino lawmakers prior to its ratification, opened the Japanese market to Philippine products and services, particularly nurses. Japanese exporters, on the other hand, will be able to supply steel products, cars and auto parts, and electronic appliances to the Philippines at low or zero tariff. Mr. Aquino explained that he was against the approval of JPEPA when he was a senator “because I believed that Japan would get more benefits from it than the Philippines.” “We can now see if the promises were realized.” So far, the President acknowledged that “it looks like something is happening,” citing the training of Filipino nurses in Japan before they could start to work there. “We have also received reports that some of the provisions of the JPEPA have been abused. So we are also awaiting reports on that.” The agreement, which sought to facilitate greater flow of trade and investments between the two countries, previously triggered intense debates that it would convert the Philippines into a dumping ground of toxic wastes from Japan. The Arroyo government, however, denied the trade pact was flawed, insisting it could bring billions of pesos worth of investments into the country |
| Last Updated on Friday, 23 July 2010 02:28 |