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Senators not impressed on Jpepa(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) FINANCE AND TRADE OFFIcials failed to impress senators on what the Philippines would gain in economic benefits if the Senate ratifies the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa), as public hearings into the proposed free trade agreement opened yesterday. The chairs of the committees handling the hearings said they were unimpressed by the governments presentation of potential Japanese foreign direct investments (FDIs) for the next three years. It appears that the government officials concerned are having a hard time justifying concurrence with Jpepa, said Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chair of the foreign relations committee which is taking the lead in the hearings. Skeptical She said she and the other senators who sat at the three-hour hearing were very skeptical about the governments justification for entering into the treaty. The basic question is, what will the Philippines gain by signing the treaty in [exchange for the] concessions we are making. This was not clear this morning, she said. Sen. Manuel Roxas II, chair of the trade and commerce committee, said the Senate would have rejected the treaty based on what he heard yesterday. I am underwhelmed by the presentation of the government... They were not able to show what the benefits to us are compared to the gains Japan would get. They are making purely technical assumptions, he said. The Department of Trade and Industry, which headed the treaty negotiations with Japan, said the country would gain about P222 billion in Japanese FDIs from 2007 to 2010 if the Jpepa is ratified. It also claimed that the investments would result in 330,000 jobs and P32 billion in tax revenues. Theoretical But Roxas said the projected increase in investments was theoretical. With or without the treaty, theyve been coming here to invest... So just because we have a treaty doesnt mean well have this money coming into the country, he said. He said he found it problematic that under the treaty, the Philippines agreed to grant national treatment to Japanese investors, treating them like natural-born Filipino businessmen. Santiago said the government officials failed to show whether the country would gain more if it agrees to the treaty, since Japan is already the countrys biggest source of foreign investments, the second biggest trading partner and largest source of official development assistance (ODA). When questioned by Sen. Richard Gordon, Trade Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez admitted their projected increase in Japanese investments were based on investment leads or missions where Japanese investors are invited to invest. Gordon said based on his experience as former chair of the Subic Bay Management Authority (SBMA), very few pledges to invest actually materialize. The senators found the anti-Jpepa group to be better prepared than the government officials. Given up too much Lawyer Golda Benjamin, spokesperson of the Junk Jpepa Coalition, said the country has given up too much compared to other countries in the region that have entered into economic partnership agreements with Japan. She claimed that under the treaty, the country gave up the right to compel Japanese investors to transfer technology and to hire a minimum number of local workers. Copyright 2007 INQ7 Interactive Inc, Source: The Financial Times Limited |