Congress to help prepare economy for Asean integration

MANILA, Philippines - Congress is working on the speedy approval of various reform measures that would allow the country to take advantage of opportunities that will arise from the looming Asean economic integration next year, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said.

In a briefing on the Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the House of Representatives on Monday, Belmonte said Congress is focusing on measures that will shield the economy from possible adverse effects of the regional integration.

“Integrating into the AEC is not only about opening up but also pushing for good governance by addressing in particular the key institutional weaknesses faced by the citizenry at large,” Belmonte said.

The briefing on the AEC by the House special committee on globalization and World Trade Organization, and the committee on trade and industry was attended by lawmakers, key House officials, representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry and other stakeholders.

As 2015 looms in the horizon, the Speaker said the country would certainly face heightened scrutiny in meeting its commitments and obligations towards the whole of the Asean Community and its member states.

“There are certainly enormous tasks and benefits in the realization of the AEC vision of a single ASEAN market; a highly competitive economic region; an equitable economic development, and full integration into the world economy,” he said.

He noted that ASEAN has a market of 600 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $3 trillion, a situation that could make the AEC a “formidable force in the global economy.”

He said that as a region, ASEAN has made progress in the implementation of commitments to the AEC by its member states.

He said much has been accomplished relative to the free flow of goods and services and regional trade facilitation, citing that duties have been eliminated on 99.2 percent of tariff lines for countries such as Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand; and 97.5 percent of all tariff lines have been reduced to about zero to five percent in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Belmonte, however, cited that measures covering trade-customs modernization, standard and conformity, services liberalization, investments, and ratification of transportation agreements have not been fully implemented.

“This is due to delays in the ratification of signed ASEAN-wide agreements and their alignment with national domestic laws, as well as delays in the implementation of specific initiatives,” he said.

Included in the priority list of the 16th Congress are enacting an Anti-Trust/Fair Competition Law; amending the economic provisions of the Constitution on foreign ownership and equity; amending the Foreign Investment Act; amending the Tariff and Customs Code; reforming the aviation sector through an Open Skies Policy; amending the charters of Philippine Ports Authority; and amending the Cabotage Law.

“Just as the center of global economic gravity is shifting towards Asia, the AEC could play a pivotal role in insuring that the rising tide could lift all the members’ boats up, enabling each and every Asean member state to partake in broader region-wide wealth-creating activities,” Belmonte said.