Photo Release

January 26, 2022

Pimentel defends RCEP agreement: Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III defends the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) during the hybrid plenary session Wednesday, January 26, 2022, saying the benefits of the free trade agreement (FTA) far outweigh the cost of not joining. Responding to the queries of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Pimentel pointed out that the RCEP region would be an important foreign direct investment (FDI) destination, accounting for 33 percent global inward FDI and 47 percent global outward FDI. Even before the Philippines join the RCEP, Pimentel also noted that the Philippines has already been trading with these countries and that the agreement would make us closer to them through trade and market integration. “The Philippines will be now an FDI destination, not only from RCEP country investors, but also from outside the RCEP that wants to access the market, made possible by the FTA, which is 30 percent of the world’s population,” Pimentel said. RCEP is an FTA between the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its five FTA partners namely Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)

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