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THE
Senate, voting 16-4, ratified late Wednesday night the
controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership
Agreement (Jpepa), succumbing to last-ditch lobbying by
Palace officials.
It was
learned that a number of senators who left the session
hall earlier to attend to dinner commitments were told
to come back in order to complete the 16 affirmative
votes needed to ratify the trade accord. Instead of
going home, administration Sen. Miguel Zubiri rushed to
the hall past 9 p.m. straight from the airport, after
arriving from a speaking engagement in Singapore, in
order to vote for Jpepa.
The four
senators who rejected the treaty are Minority Leader
Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and opposition senators Francis
Escudero, Noynoy Aquino and Jamby Madrigal.
Absent
during the voting were Senators Joker Arroyo, Pia
Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes.
Sen. Mar
Roxas, who defended the trade aspects of the agreement
on the floor, earlier admitted that the trade accord’s
key provisions are heavily in favor of Japan with the
Philippines getting the short end of the deal.
But if
the Senate had rejected ratification of the lopsided
agreement, he added, the Philippines would be at a
disadvantage with neighboring countries that also trade
the same goods and services with Japan.
“Although the Jpepa would not benefit Filipinos much, it
would be far more harmful to not pass it and be left
behind by other Asean countries trading with Japan,” he
said.
He
added, “some say we could have gotten more. Others claim
we gave up too much… let me be candid. I, too, feel that
we could have negotiated better. We could have gotten
more.” |
