Malacañang has created an inter-agency task force that will provide the Senate with the needed inputs to convince the legislative body ratify the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Sept. 28, Administrative Order (AO) No. 198 states that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the JPEPA Senate Ratification shall "act with resolve and urgency for the ratification of the Agreement in the Senate."
In an earlier administrative order, the President created the Philippine Coordinating Committee (PCC) to study the feasibility of the JPEPA.
Signed by the President and then Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sept. 9, 2006, the JPEPA requires the concurrence of the Senate.
The Senate's foreign relations committee is now conducting Senate hearings on the JPEPA.