CALABARZON workers and the imminent danger posed by JPEPA

Foreword

On September 10, 2006, the governments of Japan and the Philippines signed the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) in the Asia-Europe Meeting in Helsinki, Finland.JPEPA, the Philippines’ first full-fledged bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), was signed despite protests from the Filipino people even at its proposal stage in 2002.

On October 2, 2007, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced a prospective P365 billion boost in Japanese investments from this year till 2010 with the enforcement of the agreement.

DTI managing head Elmer C. Hernandez urged the immediate ratification of JPEPA so as to provide Japanese investors a “higher level of comfort”. He calculated JPEPA investments to generate 211,000 jobs for Filipinos. First among the priorities of Japanese investors is the infrastructure and utilities, particularly in the energy sector. Mining and mineral processing ranks second in generating 50,000 jobs. Third, transport equipments such as automotive parts and components promise P22 billion in investments and 44,000 jobs.Fourth, with electronics and telecommunications equipment, the country expects P20 billion investments and employment of 10,000.

JPEPA purportedly aims to increase trade and investment opportunities between two economies. However, Japan and the Philippines do not stand in the “level playing field” under JPEPA. No substantial economic development is foreseen in a backward agriculture-based Philippines compared with the industrial might of Japan. Even a Senate policy report on JPEPA admits that,

“While free trade enhances competition, uncompetitive industries languish and eventually close shop unless it can make a turn around and face competition. While free trade benefits consumers in general, it is disadvantageous to sectors that cannot cope up with the competition.”

The imperialist lackey administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo drives the country towards further deterioration and devastation as domestic economic safety nets such as import tariffs will be removed in the next 10 years while concessions are provided to Japanese direct investments.

Despite the numerous promises the Philippine government announces with the signing of JPEPA, specifically with the bolster of the country’s investments and trade, the majority of the people remains dubious.

Being directly or indirectly hit by its provisions, peasants and workers stepped up protest actions against JPEPA. These protests pushed some lawmakers to rethink and review the agreement. The senate temporarily suspends the ratification of JPEPA.

This paper intends to review some provisions of the agreement pertaining to labor, specifically, in view of the experiences of the labor movement under Japanese direct investments in Southern Tagalog, and the possible implications of the agreement to the workers in the region. The paper does not intend to scrutinize nor capture the whole trade and investment provisions packaged in the agreement.

(For full text, please download attachments in English and Filipino versions.)

(Presented by the Public Information Department of PAMANTIK-KMU, October 24, 2007)