Unprepared Phl likely to face risks in a unified Asian market

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines, being disjointed and incoherent in preparation for the integration, may likely face risks rather than maximize the opportunities in the ASEAN unified market 11 months from now.

This was pointed out by Philippine Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) 2014 president Atty. Josephus Jimenez who said that the country being not yet ready for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) come 2015 may turn out to lose the chance of wider market prospects with other member countries.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations includes the Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

In 2007, these countries agreed to establish the AEC wherein a free trade market will fully take place by 2015. Three members such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam shall however participate in 2018.

AEC is intended to create a single market and production base that will allow the free flow of goods, investments, services, and capital in the region.

It will further pave the way for the free flow of skilled labor particularly for doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers, architects, accountants, surveyors and tourism workers.

“In 2015, there will be no tariffs and no barriers. We shall negotiate trade agreements as a group. AEC will make it easy to do across all borders. Now, Philippines will have a strong leverage if we stand together as one nation,” Jimenez said.

He, however, said that the national government has been inactive towards the country’s preparation for the open market.

Even with the appointment of a rehabilitation czar, he said that the government failed to come up with a game plan and to appoint an overall head who will oversee the readiness of the country for the AEC that will already take place next year.

“There is an endemic apprehension that our country is really not ready to face the reality of integration, with all its facets, dimensions, and far-reaching implications. The government has not sounded a call, much less an urgent call to put all our acts together. Unlike Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, the Philippines seems not to put much emphasis on preparing for the integration,” he said.

PMAP, anxious with the lack of sense of urgency by the government to prepare the Filipino workforce, initiated the formulation of a roadmap for the human resource readiness towards the ASEAN integration. It was launched during the general membership- meeting of the association last month.

Jimenez identified the non-human resource opportunities that a member country could capitalize on.

These include tourism, hotels and restaurants, education and training center, health services and total wellness, medical tourism, agriculture, mining, security and intelligence services, logistics and supply chain, food manufacturing, transport and luxury cruise, fashion design, research, publication, journalism and book writing.

He also highlighted the threats to the Philippine labor force such as too much contractualization, issues on job security and wages, risk to women and children particularly pedophilia, sex tourism and cyber sex, transnational crisis, violation of traditional copyright and intellectual property, and espionage on political, legal and military matters that could lead to hacking.

He said that employees who failed to upgrade their skills and enhance their competencies will surely be left behind by other ASEAN countries.

“The unskilled labor force from smaller countries who are not ready for the integration will surely be threatened with the skilled workforce from bigger and prepared economies,” he said.

Jimenez cited that the Philippines ranks fifth among the 10 member countries in terms of competitiveness of the human capital. (FREEMAN)