THE Senate, on Tuesday, February 21, concurred with the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with Senator Christopher “Bong” Go voting affirmatively. Go, however, called for the implementation of safeguards to protect local farmers and industries from potential adverse impacts of the agreement.

Explaining his affirmative vote, Go acknowledged the commitment of concerned agencies saying that “we take the word of the Executive Department that no farmer or ordinary Filipino will be deprived of the development that this agreement promises.”

“I give my conditional support, and will hold you to your commitment na hindi mapapabayaan ang mahihirap at pinaka-nangangailangan,” said Go.

He went on to stress the importance of providing more support to local farmers and industries to ensure their competitiveness now and in the long term.

Go also urged the government to prioritize the strengthening of the agricultural sector and the provision of interventions that have been promised. He emphasized the need to increase the budget for agriculture and to make local farmers resilient and competitive enough to benefit from the opportunities presented by the RCEP.

“Naiintidihan po natin ang concern at pangamba ng agricultural sector dahil sa loob ng maraming taon napabayaan po talaga ang agrikultura. Huwag po natin silang pabayaan. Dapat lahat ng mga interventions na ipinangako ay mapatupad. Dapat madagdagan talaga ang budget para sa agrikultura,” he reiterated.

“Palakasin natin ang sektor ng agrikultura and let us make our farmers resilient and competitive enough. Let us first safeguard and capacitate them,” added Go.

While he supports measures to strengthen the Philippine economy and improve its relations with other countries, Go also called for policies and guidelines to be implemented to ensure that local industries are not left behind.

“Suportado ko ang mga hakbang upang mas mapalakas ang ating ekonomiya at relasyon sa ibang bansa pero siguruhin din nating makakabenepisyo ang mga ordinaryong Pilipino at hindi mapapabayaan ang mga maliliit na magsasaka at maliliit na industriya,” said Go.

“Siguraduhin din natin na with open competition, bababa ang presyo ng mga produkto para makinabang ang mga ordinaryong Pilipino,” he added.

The RCEP is a free trade agreement that was formally signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries on November 15, 2020. Among the signatories include the ten member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

The agreement covers a wide range of areas, including trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property, e-commerce, and more.

The RCEP is considered the world’s largest trade pact, covering about 30% of the global economy and nearly a third of the world’s population. It aims to reduce trade barriers and promote economic integration among the signatory countries, which could potentially lead to increased trade and investment flows, as well as more job opportunities and economic growth.

Go then emphasized the need to strike a careful balance between opening up industries to the demands of the regional economy and protecting local industries.

“The guidelines and policies we included in our resolution have to be implemented to ensure that RCEP will be effective for us,” urged Go.
Go then concluded by calling for policies and measures “to enhance productivity and boost competitiveness in the agricultural sector” to be implemented, and for the guidelines included in their resolution to be “treated as plans of action to empower local industries.”