Senate Approves PH Membership In RCEP Free Trade Deal

The Senate agreed to ratify the Philippines’ membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), the latest country in Southeast Asia to join the world’s largest free trade deal.

Twenty senators signed the resolution agreeing to the ratification of RCEP. Under the Constitution, any treaty or international agreement needs the signature of at least two-thirds of the Senate for it to be valid. Sen. Risa Hontiveros voted no to the resolution, while Sen. Imee Marcos voted to abstain.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. agreed to ratify RCEP in November 2022 and then submitted it to the Senate for concurrence. In his letter to the senators, he indicated that he believes the Philippines could benefit from the free trade deal backed by China through enhanced market access and “stronger” protection of intellectual property rights, among others.

RCEP was implemented in January 2022. The Philippines joins its neighboring countries,  Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam as a member of the RCEP. Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and China are also part of the bloc.

RCEP was initiated by China and is considered an alternative to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) led by the U.S. RCEP was pushed when former U.S. President Donald Trump decided to abandon TPP, the previous version of CPTPP, to pursue an “America First” policy.

RCEP covers about 30% of the global GDP and world population and does not include the U.S. as a member.

This move by the Senate withstood calls from various sectors to reject the deal since it could hurt the local agriculture sector. For these groups, the country is not prepared to compete with its regional counterparts under RCEP.

Source: Philstar