Trade Advisory Group chief and World Trade Organization (WTO) panelist Atty. Antonio Abad further gives insights on the prospects for the Philippines when ASEAN integration comes in next year.
In this episode of ASEAN in Focus (Nov. 28), Abad also talks about basic economics and what would be happening with the establishment of an ASEAN economic community.
Abad said the “positives definitely outweigh the negatives” for the Philippines when ASEAN becomes a regional economic hub starting next year.
Abad said that with ASEAN integration, this will change the system of inequality in the Philippines and tilt this in favor of the poor. It will also benefit the consumers.
“Those who raise fears of ASEAN integration don’t want things to change. But the Philippines has to change,” Abad told NET 25’s ASEAN in Focus.
“Of all the countries in ASEAN, it is the only country where the human index – the quality of life — is actually getting worse for the majority, whereas all the other ASEAN countries are actually improving. here, there are only a few who are getting very very rich, and everyone else is getting poorer. We hope that ASEAN will change that,” Abad said.
Abad, who is the director of the Ateneo Center for International Economic Law (ACIEL) is also a former administrator of the National Food Authority (NFA). He is also a former chairman and president of the Food Terminal, Inc. He also served as a tariff commissioner and was responsible for the determination of the overall tariff structure for the Philippines and the formulation of international trade policy. He presided over anti-dumping and other trade remedy investigations, and monitored regional and multilateral trade relations
This series and the program ASEAN IN FOCUS of NET 25 (Monday to Friday, 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., with replays 11:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.) is part of Eagle Broadcasting’s advocacy to promote awareness about the ASEAN region and the 2015 ASEAN integration. ASEAN in Focus brings the latest news and features about the ASEAN region and the ASEAN integration process, and includes interviews of noted resource persons who share their views about the ASEAN integration process. (Eagle News Service)
