Palace sees Senate ratification of Jpepa

Malacañang on Wednesday brimmed with confidence that the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) would eventually be ratified by the Senate even if it would cost the government up to P4.75 billion in the first year of the accord’s implementation alone. “The allies we have in the Senate have tried to explain to their colleagues the whys and wherefores of Jpepa and they’re confident that at the end of the day the agreement would be ratified," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a briefing. Bunye said feedback from those pushing for the ratification of the pact have made Malacañang confident that the Jpepa would be approved. He said the accord’s advantages outweighed the disadvantages aside from the safety nets the government has provided for sectors that would be affected when Jpepa comes into effect. According to Bunye, the primary advantage of Jpepa is the increased facilitation of goods and services that would help the economy move forward. “It's very important to convince senators that this is something worth ratifying," he added. The Department of Finance (DOF) estimates that the economy would lose P3.2 billion to P4.75 billion in first year of the Jpepa implementation. However, the DOF projected that the losses would be recouped in the subsequent years in terms of Japanese investments, employment generation and taxes to be raised from these activities. The estimated losses were based on the assumption that the gross domestic product would grow in 2007 by at least 6.9 percent and up to 7.3 percent. Government economic managers said they see that exports would grow by 8 percent this year instead of 11 percent. - GMANews.TV