Meeting challenges of an ASEAN Economic Community -- Belmonte

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. gave the assurance that Congress would focus its
efforts on institutionalizing policy reforms that would maximize gains from an emerging
S!" !conomic Community #!C$.
%&ntegrating into the !C is not only a'out opening up 'ut also pushing for good
governance 'y addressing in particular the key institutional weaknesses faced 'y the
citizenry at large,( Belmonte told a vital 'riefing on the !C at the )ouse of
*epresentatives last +cto'er ,-
st
.
.he 'riefing on the !C 'y the Special Committee on /lo'alization 0 1.+ and
the Committee on .rade and &ndustry was attended 'y lawmakers, key )ouse officials,
representatives from the 2epartment of .rade and &ndustry and other stakeholders.
s ,3-4 looms in the horizon, the Speaker stressed that the country would certainly
face heightened scrutiny in meeting its commitments and o'ligations towards the whole of
the S!" Community and its mem'er states.
%.here are certainly enormous tasks and 'enefits in the realization of the !C
vision of #i$ a single S!" market5 #ii$ a highly competitive economic region5 #iii$ an
e6uita'le economic development and #iv$ full integration into the world economy,(
Belmonte declared.
)e noted that S!" has a market of 733 million people and a com'ined /28 of
9S:;<trillion, a situation which could make the !C a %formida'le force in the glo'al
economy.(
Belmonte acknowledged that as a region, S!" has made progress in the
implementation of commitments to the !C 'y its mem'er states.
)e noted that much has 'een made relative to the free flow of goods and services
and regional trade facilitation, citing that duties were eliminated on ==.,> of tariff lines
for countries such as Brunei 2arussalam, &ndonesia, ?alaysia, 8hilippines, Singapore and
.hailand5 and =@.4> of all tariff lines have 'een reduced to a'out 3> to 4> in Cam'odia,
A+ 82*, ?yanmar and Bietnam.
Belmonte, however, cited that measures covering trade<customs modernization,
standard and conformity, services li'eralization, investments, and ratification of
transportation agreements have not 'een fully implemented.
NR # 3629
OCT. 24, 2014
%.his is due to delays in the ratification of signed S!"<wide agreements and
their alignment with national domestic laws, as well as delays in the implementation of
specific initiatives,( he explained.
Several of the reform measures that are on the priority list of the -7
th
Congress
includeC a$ enacting an nti<.rustDFair Competition Aaw5 '$ amending the !conomic
provisions of the -=E@ Constitution on Foreign +wnership and !6uity5 c$ amending the
Foreign &nvestment ct5 d$ amending the .ariff and Customs Code5 e$ reforming the
viation Sector through an +pen Skies 8olicy5 f$ amending the charters of 88 and
?*&"5 g$ and amending the Ca'otage Aaw.
%Just as the center of glo'al economic gravity is shifting towards sia, the !C
could play a pivotal role in insuring that the rising tide could lift all the mem'ersF 'oats
up, ena'ling each and every S!" mem'er state to partake in 'roader region<wide
wealth<creating activities,( the Speaker said. #;3$ dpt