Written by Butch Fernandez / Reporter
Friday, 23 October 2009 04:59
THE Senate is set to summon Trade Secretary Peter Favila next week to explain what senators decried as a hush-hush implementation of an international agreement that would allow imported agriculture products into the country tax-free, to the detriment of local farmers.
Sen. Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, pointed out that the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga), supposed to take effect on January 1, 2010, may not be legally enforced as senators have yet to give their concurrence to the accord, as provided in the Philippine Constitution.
She cited a constitutional provision which states, in part, that no treaty or international agreement shall be valid unless concurred in by two-thirds vote of the Senate. “If it [Atiga] is an international agreement, why was it not submitted to the Senate?” she asked. “The Senate was kept in the dark,” she added.
In an impromptu press conference, Legarda told reporters she received information that Favila signed the Atiga in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 26, 2009, but it was “intentionally kept from the public.”
According to her, the Atiga, reportedly part of the Asean Free Trade Agreement, was initially set to take effect on 2015 but the new tariff schedule was accelerated to 2010. It was touted to be an accord that would allow the free flow of goods among Asean countries, but Legarda voiced fears it would open the floodgates and allow cheap products into the country without paying duties and taxes.
Apart from the Philippines, among the other signatories to the accord are Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam. Legarda learned, however, that Indonesia has requested for a two-year grace period before implementing the accord. She suggested that the Philippines ask for a similar deferment.
She warned that the Atiga will, in effect, waive billions of pesos in revenues from duties and taxes at a time when the country is hard put looking for additional resources to deal with the calamity caused by recent typhoons. “We are forgoing revenues while we are begging for aid from foreign donors.”
Legarda is concerned that the tariff accord would also kill the livelihood of farmers and other local food producers because the government failed to provide safety nets for them in anticipation of the effectivity of the agreement.
“I am alarmed so I am appealing to the government to seek its deferment for humanitarian reasons,” she said. “Why are we in a hurry when this will adversely affect our people?”
In a separate letter to President Arroyo, the Federation of Philippine Industries Inc. (FPII), also voiced misgivings about the impact on businesses once the Atiga is enforced. FPII warned that some businesses may be so badly hurt as to close down, contributing to unemployment.
Friday, 23 October 2009 04:59
THE Senate is set to summon Trade Secretary Peter Favila next week to explain what senators decried as a hush-hush implementation of an international agreement that would allow imported agriculture products into the country tax-free, to the detriment of local farmers.
Sen. Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, pointed out that the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga), supposed to take effect on January 1, 2010, may not be legally enforced as senators have yet to give their concurrence to the accord, as provided in the Philippine Constitution.
She cited a constitutional provision which states, in part, that no treaty or international agreement shall be valid unless concurred in by two-thirds vote of the Senate. “If it [Atiga] is an international agreement, why was it not submitted to the Senate?” she asked. “The Senate was kept in the dark,” she added.
In an impromptu press conference, Legarda told reporters she received information that Favila signed the Atiga in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 26, 2009, but it was “intentionally kept from the public.”
According to her, the Atiga, reportedly part of the Asean Free Trade Agreement, was initially set to take effect on 2015 but the new tariff schedule was accelerated to 2010. It was touted to be an accord that would allow the free flow of goods among Asean countries, but Legarda voiced fears it would open the floodgates and allow cheap products into the country without paying duties and taxes.
Apart from the Philippines, among the other signatories to the accord are Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam. Legarda learned, however, that Indonesia has requested for a two-year grace period before implementing the accord. She suggested that the Philippines ask for a similar deferment.
She warned that the Atiga will, in effect, waive billions of pesos in revenues from duties and taxes at a time when the country is hard put looking for additional resources to deal with the calamity caused by recent typhoons. “We are forgoing revenues while we are begging for aid from foreign donors.”
Legarda is concerned that the tariff accord would also kill the livelihood of farmers and other local food producers because the government failed to provide safety nets for them in anticipation of the effectivity of the agreement.
“I am alarmed so I am appealing to the government to seek its deferment for humanitarian reasons,” she said. “Why are we in a hurry when this will adversely affect our people?”
In a separate letter to President Arroyo, the Federation of Philippine Industries Inc. (FPII), also voiced misgivings about the impact on businesses once the Atiga is enforced. FPII warned that some businesses may be so badly hurt as to close down, contributing to unemployment.
