As farmers protest Senate ratifies RCEP, haile as P commitment to economic openness

By Jennifer T. Santos, Correspondent

PASAY CITY – After eight years of haggling, the enate finally concurred ith the ratification of the egional Co prehensive cono ic Partnership C P on e ruary a idst protests y so e groups due to hat they say as possi le adverse e ects on the country, especially on the far ers and producers ho ere said to e not ready to co pete ith their counterparts in the region y a vote of yes to one no vote y en isa ontiveros and one a stention y en I ee arcos, the enate approved the ratification he Philippines is the last signatory country that ratified C P since it as concluded on ov , after eight years of negotiations

C P is currently the largest regional trade loc in the orld accounting for al ost one-third of the orld s glo al population, gross do estic product, trade, and in ard

Grieving...

(From page 1) de ic hen attac s on

A ericans of Asian descent ent into overdrive

Asian A erican oundation e ecutive director o-Ann oo said, hat s happening throughout our country is not his is not nor al o ody should get shot at a dance party, no ody should get shot at or , no ody should

Invest Ents

A ong the country s enefits in oining the C P include ero or lo er i port tari s for Philippine products that ill enter the shores of its free trade partners ider sourcing of ra aterials for Philippine anufacturers sta le and predicta le usiness environ ent integrating icro, s all, and ediu enterprises into the glo al value chain allo ing ilipino professionals to practice their profession in C P areas stronger protection for intellectual property rights and access to econo ic and technical cooperation support to oost the country s co petitiveness, a ong others

It is a co prehensive trade and investent agree ent initiated y the A A e ers ith its A partners China, apan, outh orea, Australia and e ealand he A has entered into force since an , for those participating countries that ratified C P early he ratification of the egional Co pre- get shoved o a train platfor , no one should die in their o n apart ent, and no one should die in the street calling for their other he as referencing the ost recent hate cri es such as the urder of Christina una ee ho as sta ed to death in her apart ent in Chinato n, and ichelle Alyssa o ho as pushed into the path of an onco ing train in i es uare last year hensive cono ic Partnership C P , the orld s iggest free trade agree ent, sho s the orld that the Philippines is co itted to econo ic openness, President erdinand arcos r said follo ing the ratification y the enate n his official ace oo page and itter account, arcos elco ed the enate s decision to concur in the ratification after ust t o days of plenary de ates e are proud of the s ift ratification of the egional Co prehensive cono ic Partnership Agree ent, de onstrating our co it ent to openness and a thriving usiness environ ent, arcos said eing part of this regional free trade agree ent holds i ense potential for prooting econo ic gro th and develop ent across the Asia-Pacific and rings nu erous opportunities for our country, particularly in the areas of agriculture, anufacturing, and icro, s all and ediu enterprises s , he added

Council e er Christopher arte said any e or ers fro the Asian co unity have told hi that they are afraid of going out alone in the city that has een their ho e for the longest ti e, so e since irth aid arte Al ost a do en people co e to y office a ee and tell us that they are scared e get seniors ho say they can t go out and do tai chi ecause they don t ant to e alone ast ee , arcos said the ratification of the C P trade deal ould allo the Philippines to further strengthen its agricultural value chain, thus a ing it ore co petitive ean hile, the arcos ad inistration s top econo ist is opti istic that the ne free trade agree ent A ill fuel the country s econo ic gro th ational cono ic and evelop ent Authority A ecretary Arsenio alisacan than ed the enate for ta ing the old and ga e-changing ove y concurring ith the C P ratification that ill allo the Philippines to i ple ent the co it ents and ta e advantage of the enefits under the trade pact inally, the Philippine enate has ratified the egional Co prehensive cono ic Partnership, providing another engine for gro ing the econo y and a ing it part of rapidly rising Asia, alisacan said in a t eet he one day event in e or City o ered healing through usical perforances It also ai ed to cele rate the lives of the victi s at the sa e ti e hoping to raise a areness and prevent ove racist attac s fro ta ing place in one of the ost diverse cities in the or those ho have een left ehind after the deaths of their loved ones, the shared grief is one ay of easing the pain of a loss that need not have happened