President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Sunday the ratification of the Philippines’ participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is necessary for access to global markets.
This was after some lawmakers expressed apprehensions by saying that the government should make sure first that the country is resilient enough to handle internal and external shocks.
The Senate is still deliberating whether to ratify the RCEP agreement.
“Right now, kung wala tayo sa RCEP, hindi natin maa-access ang kanilang mga market, lalo na iyon supply chain na available na binibigay ngayon sa Asya,” the President stressed in an interview on board a chartered plane to the Philippines after his 5-day working visit to Japan.
(Right, now if we don’t have RCEP, we wont be able to access their markets, especially the supply chain available to Asia)
“All our markets that are mentioned in RCEP are already open, walang mabubuksan na bago. Nabubuksan lang, para sa ‘kin ay to the advantage of the Philippines, dahil iyong mga supply nga, the supply chains, the different non-traditional suppliers of agricultural inputs, of agricultural commodities ay pwede natin access iyon. Without RCEP, we cannot do that,” he said.
(What will be open, which I think is to the advantage of the Philippines, are the supply chains, the different non-traditional suppliers of agricultural inputs, of agricultural commodities, we can access that.)
Facing the Philippine Business Opportunities Forum in Tokyo, the President reiterated that his administration would push for the ratification of RCEP.
“The reason that I talked about RCEP is because I am quite confident na malapit na maipasa iyan (it will soon be approved),” Marcos said.
“I think time will prove that it is to our advantage, kasi ang habol natin is trade eh (we are after trade),” he said.
In a speech prior to his inauguration, Marcos earlier said the government would deliberate further on the impact of RCEP on agriculture before deciding on its fate.
