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THE governments of the
United
States of America and Switzerland are giving money to
the Philippine trade department to train new negotiators
and bolster the country’s strength in international
trade discussions and negotiations.
“Our motive here is clear: to get as many people in the
country to appreciate and learn more about how to deal
with other countries in terms of trade,” Trade senior
undersecretary Thomas Aquino told reporters on Thursday.
Aquino led a briefing on the outcome of an Internet-based
learning program that teaches mainly government
employees on the World Trade Organization (WTO) and
related matters.
The learning course received a US$200,000 funding last year,
primarily from the US Agency for International
Development, according to Virgilio R. delos Reyes, chief
executive officer of GoVida Inc., a private company that
hosts the eight online courses.
Reyes said the cost per learner, considered scholars, is at
$695 (roughly P31,250 at $1=P50).
“This is still lower compared to face-to-face training,”
Reyes said, noting that current government spending for
its employees for such kind of training is at P1,100 a
day ($22), excluding spending for the speaker’s plane
fare and per diem and the student’s training materials.
The online study program, called Philippine Global Trade
eLearning, makes learning available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week without the students leaving their
offices or experiencing disruptions in their normal work
schedule, according to documents Reyes provided.
The program is entering its second year this year, having
graduated 330 of more than 600 enrollees from government
agencies (501), nongovernment groups (86), and schools
(156 individuals).
Reyes told BusinessMirror in a separate interview that these
graduates completed the whole eight courses, excluding
63 from the judiciary who underwent an abridged type of
learning that centered on Philippine law and
international trade.
“Most of these are judges from our justice system, with some
research staff and court employees,” Reyes, who also
teaches Business Administration at the De La Salle
University, said on the phone.
Of the 330 “completers,” majority came from the Departments
of Agriculture (32) and Trade and Industry (28). The
House of Representatives followed with 13, the
Department of Foreign Affairs had 10, and six from the
Senate.
Average completers for the course, each with a maximum
number of days for completion and with examination, was
280 individuals.
Reyes said some dropped out because they were transferred to
other posts, resigned or retired, or had difficulty
balancing work and their studies.
He said they will offer more incentives to enrollees this
year, aside from the fact that the students don’t pay
anything.
“Those who finished the eight courses are really disciplined
academically,” Reyes said.
The program comes after the collapse of the
Doha
round of trade negotiations among countries within the
WTO framework.
Aquino said that while this is the first online training on
international trade negotiations, there is still a lot
to be done.
“There is a crying need for negotiators,” Aquino said.
There is also a need to speed up consensus building among
government agencies concerned with specific trade
issues, he said.
As an example, he noted that while the country responded
swiftly to issues on antidumping and safeguards, there
was a slow availment of the countervailing features of
international trade.
The online program, he said, could help fill the void in
capacity building efforts so that the Philippines could
swiftly respond to the challenges of a liberalized
global trading system. |
