Press Release
December 20, 2007

Transcript of interview with Senator Mar
Roxas at 'Kapihan sa Senado' (excerpts)

On JPEPA:

MAR: Katatapos lang ng pang-siyam na hearing tungkol dito sa JPEPA, at masasabi natin na talagang inurirat at siniyasat natin ng mabuti itong treaty, at sinisiguro natin na itong treaty ay para sa ating kapakanan. Panghuli na siguro itong hearing, at sa panahon ng Pasko, ay ibubuo na ang committee report, at ito ay ici-circulate among the members para makita kung may suporta ito sa floor.

Q: What about constitutional and other issues? You mentioned as far as you and Senator Angara are concerned, this is it for the economic side.

MAR: Yung trabaho dito sa JPEPA, pinaghati-hatian namin. Yung mga constitutional issues, labor issues, foreign relations issues, ang namumuno diyan si Senador Miriam Defensor Santiago. Doon naman sa trade, in terms of agriculture, goods and movement of people, iyon ang siniyasat namin. Ibubuo ang aming mga findings sa isang committee report lamang, kung saan lahat ng pananaw ng mga senador ay maisasama diyan.

Q: Can we expect ratification in the first quarter of 2008?

MAR: It's possible, the first quarter meaning end of March. It might be tight, but it will be possible. We will write up a draft committee report. We will circulate it. That will be the first time na makikita natin kung meron ngang suporta, objection at iba pa, at magpapatuloy lamang ang proseso kung mayroong suporta first among the committee members para sa JPEPA.

Q: Senator Santiago said the government has not fully given its side.

MAR: Maaari na iyon ang kanyang pananaw, and that will guide her accordingly. I can not speak for Senator Santiago, but there was an October 23 deadline for submission of memoranda, explanatory notes, additional information. Since that time, until the present, we have asked for more information and other explanations. As between now and whenever the committee report is written, any senator can ask for any more information that he or she requires in order to arrive at a responsible judgment on this.

After consulting with Senator Angara, relative to trade and goods, industrial, manufacturing, service as well as in agriculture, I myself have exhausted all my questions and have obtained all the information I need. I will now be distilling it and so will Senator Angara. With regards to other matters relative to the Constitution and other provisions of the treaty, Senator Santiago will be in the best position to respond.

Q: Based on the hearings, is your inclination to ratify?

MAR: We just finished the information gathering process. You have seen that we have done this exhaustively, we've had nine hearings, four of those dedicated to jobs, incomes, livelihoods in our country, making sure we know which sectors will be affected, making sure we know which sectors will have gained the most. That is where we concentrated about half the hearings of this entire JPEPA process. I will certainly take all of this information and consolidate it to a position relative to the whole treaty. Right now, my thoughts are in the minutiae, the details of trade and goods, and I'll take a look at the whole treaty over the holidays.

Q: What is your view of the executive's projections on trade?

MAR: I think the executive's projections on increasing trade are relatively soft, meaning not based on reliable information. Hindi pwede ipako. I think that most of the advances in exports will really come from our own people, our own business sector taking advantage of the tariff reductions. Government can help them certainly by lowering the cost of doing business, in particular, power, reducing graft and corruption, making it much easier to move goods in and out of the ports. But it's really the business sector and their ability to recognize opportunities that will make the projections happen.

Q: They said there's a possibility of increasing RP garment exports by up to 200%.

MAR: Sinabi nila na may posibilidad na ganoon, pero mangyayari lamang iyon kapag marami pang ibang bagay ang mangyari. Halimbawa, sa textiles, yung short supply list na kailangan i-negotiate sa bansang Hapon. Ang sinabi nila is as of now, yung growth in exports to Japan will be six to seven percent. Maaari pang maging 200 o higit pa, pero marami pa ring kailangan mangyari. Ang sinasabi ko ay yung export targets, export estimates are soft numbers, kase napakaganda pero ang daming assumptions, dami pang dapat mangyari para maging totoo ang mga estimate na iyon.

Sa steel industry, yung GI sheet, makakapasok dito ng tariff-free sa loob ng lima hanggang sampung taon, so hindi naman agad-agad mawawalan ng proteksyon yung ating domestic steel industry. Itong mga galvanized, GI sheet, yung mga pintado na, makakapasok ng tariff free.

News Latest News Feed