Japan Loan to Philippines Seen to Sweeten JPEPA

manila — A group critical of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) deemed that the latest Japanese development aid for the country’s agrarian reform program aims to deceive the Filipino people.

No Deal! spokesperson Arnold Padilla said that while Japan claims that the aid will help improve farm productivity, employment, and income, in reality, it is only meant to sweeten the destructive JPEPA that is currently pending in the Senate for ratification.

Padilla explained, “By providing $108.61 million for the third phase of the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (ARISP III) to fund the construction of small-sized irrigation facilities, farm-to-market roads, and market information centers as well as farmers’ training, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) aims to add pressure on the Senate to ratify the JPEPA by “sweetening” the deal with commitments of more funding for agriculture infrastructure projects.”

The group noted that in past Senate hearings, government negotiators declared that the JPEPA will help develop local agriculture and reduce the poverty of farmers and fishers as the economic pact would promote increased agricultural investment, production, and export to Japan. But they also acknowledged that all of these will be realized only with the necessary infrastructure in place.

However, Filipino farmers and fishers reject the JPEPA because of its harmful impact on their livelihood. The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), a nationwide alliance of fishers’ organizations, for instance, estimates that the deal would displace 100,000 jobs in the local tuna industry alone.

Padilla reiterates, “Overall, JPEPA’s supposed benefits are limited to large transnational agribusiness corporations and their local landlord-comprador partners that are involved in the production and export to Japan of banana, pineapple, and other farm and marine exports.”

Padilla added, “The infrastructure projects that JBIC will fund intend to facilitate the agricultural production and trade of these big corporations. But they do not necessarily translate to improved living conditions for Filipino farmers and fishers as indicated by more stable livelihood and more decent incomes through effective control over their farmlands and other means of agricultural production.”

He said, “We call on our senators and the public to not fall into this deception being peddled by the Arroyo regime and the JBIC. We reiterate our demand for the Senate to say “No Deal!” to the JPEPA, uphold the country’s economic sovereignty, and protect local industries and vulnerable social sectors such as our small farmers and fishers.” (END)

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