DTI expects Senate to ratify JPEPA this year

The Department of Trade and Industry is confident the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement will be ratified by the Senate this year.

“The JPEPA will be approved very soon. Definitely within the year,” Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila told The STAR in an interview.

Favila said he sees no reason why the Senate should not ratify the JPEPA which has been pending because of some constitutional issues.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is losing millions of dollars in potential Japanese investments due to the non-ratification of JPEPA, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines said.

“The country (Philippines) is losing opportunities. The companies are holding off investment decisions until the ratification of JPEPA,” Japanese Chamber president Toshifumi Inami said in a separate interview.

Inami said there may be some businesses who initially thought of infusing money in the Philippines but decided to go into other ASEAN countries that have already signed their respective economic partnership agreements (EPA) with Japan.

According to Inami, the country should work on signing the JPEPA “at a faster time.”

Inami said he could not comment on whether or not the JPEPA will be ratified within the year but he said he hopes it will be passed before 2010.

However, he cleared that they understand the need for the legislators to discuss the bilateral agreement exhaustively.

“We are disappointed that it hasn’t been ratified but we also know that it is important to deeply discuss the terms of the agreement,” Inami explained.

Meanwhile, DTI said it will involve lawmakers in the negotiations for the next EPA with another country in order to avoid another incident like the JPEPA.

In an interview, Favila said they are looking at getting representatives from both the Senate and the House to join trade officials in EPA negotiations.

“Maybe if they are part of the team from day one we would not have problems passing the EPA,” Favila said.

Favila warned that failure to sign the JPEPA will be bad for the image of the country as a good investment destination.

“Non-ratification telegraphs our unwillingness to engage in cooperative ventures with a long-time trade and investment partner,” Favila explained.

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have economic agreements with Japan while the rest are now about to finalize similar agreements.

“The waiting time for the ratification has also put on hold major Japanese projects that are intended for the Philippines,” he added.