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Philippines

Pamalakaya to spearhead ’Jpepa free zone’ campaign
2-Aug-2008 GMA News
A Filipino fisherfolk alliance is set to lead an across-the-country campaign to oppose the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa), which is still pending ratification in the Senate.
Japan trade deal imperils Filipino fishers
2-Aug-2008 UPI
Groups opposed to the bilateral economic agreement between Japan and the Philippines expressed fears that its ratification could lead to an inflow of secondhand Japanese ships - similar to the MV Princess of the Stars, a ferry owned by Sulpicio Lines, which sank last month at the height of Typhoon Frank (also known as Typhoon Fengshen).
What land reform? farmers group asks
1-Aug-2008 Mindanao Examiner
Some 200,000 hectares of lands in southern Mindanao alone have been converted into banana and pineapple plantations by Del Monte and Dole corporations while millions of hectares are also threatened with the looming ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
A call for the Senate to reject the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA)
31-Jul-2008 Hopeful
The undersigned ask the Philippine Senate to fulfill its role as check and balance to the Executive branch of government, to do right by the Filipino people and reject this infirm, lopsided, unlawful and unconstitutional treaty.
Tokyo rejects ‘detailed’ JPEPA side agreement, solon says
31-Jul-2008 GMANews
The Philippine Senate may have to be satisfied with a mere "general statement" of assurance that the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement will not violate existing constitutional constraints and international law commitments before it concurs with this landmark trade pact
RP preparing for talks with US for FTA starting early next year
31-Jul-2008 Yehey
“Without the WTO, we need this FTA badly,” Donald Dee, a government special trade envoy and chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.
Militants press Senate to reject Jpepa - report
29-Jul-2008 GMANews
About 150 activists trooped to the Philippine Senate on Tuesday, calling on senators to reject the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement
SC ruling on JPEPA: Shackled by ‘entropy of the old tradition of secrecy’
22-Jul-2008 PCIJ
“WE must overcome the entropy of the old tradition of secrecy,” counseled Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno in his lengthy argument on the petition to have the government disclose details of the negotiations between the Philippines and Japan in relation to the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Obviously, it was an advice that went largely unheeded as majority of his colleagues upheld for a second time the Arroyo government’s invocation of executive privilege.
SC JPEPA decision turns Filipino people into beggars of information on critical national issues
21-Jul-2008 SC JPEPA decision turns Filipino people into beggars of information on critical national issues
The Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade), whose affiliates are among the petitioners on the lack of government transparency in trade negotiations, denounces the cowardly decision of the Supreme Court on the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Said decision upholds the secrecy of executive treaty-making exercise even if such treaty puts Philippine jobs and industries at risk.
’SC ruling on JPEPA may lead to one-sided trade deals’
17-Jul-2008 ABS-CBN
The No Deal! Movement, which has actively campaigned against the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement said that the Supreme Court decision to uphold secrecy of Philippine government negotiations over trade deals "will set a dangerous precedent, legitimizing the marginalization of ordinary Filipinos from having access to pertinent information on economic treaties such as JPEPA that will have a deep impact on their interest and livelihood"
SC affirms ‘executive privilege’ on JPEPA negotiations
16-Jul-2008 PDI
The Philippine Supreme Court has upheld the “executive privilege” invoked by the government in refusing to accede to a request by several lawmakers, and partylist and militant groups for a full disclosure of its negotiations with Japan involving the controversial trade agreement.
Youth group slams crackdown on protesters at G8
9-Jul-2008 GMANews
Militant Filipino youths scored Tuesday what they called the repression against protesters at the G-8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, and demanded the release of the arrested protesters. In a letter to Japanese ambassador Makoto Katsura dated July 8, the youths also reiterated their opposition to the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
RP fishers buck EU-ASEAN free trade deal
26-Jun-2008
A group of small-scale fishers in the Philippines is against a free trade deal between the European Union (EU) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
USDA signs agreement with Philippines on agricultural cooperation
26-Jun-2008 USDA FAS
The agreement standardizes food safety regulations, rural development, biotechnology, and product distribution and marketing.
Japan agrees to amend trade treaty
18-Jun-2008 Manila Standard
Japan is willing to sign a side agreement with the Philippines to quiet concerns about provisions in a free-trade treaty deemed inconsistent with or violate the Philippine Constitution, an official said yesterday.
Group urges Palace to reveal content of RP-US free trade pact
17-Jun-2008 GMANews
A militant fisher folk group urged Malacañang on Tuesday to disclose the content of the proposed RP-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which it said might be the top agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s state visit to the United States next week.
Awaiting the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement
1-Jun-2008 PhilStar
Corporate opportunities from JPEPA, if ever the Philippine Senate ratifies it
Don’t be rushed into trade deal with EU, think-tank warns
21-May-2008
Independent think-tank IBON Foundation said that the Philippine government should not rush into negotiations for a partnership cooperation agreement with the European Union.
JPEPA: ’Unconstitutional’ on 15 counts yet...
14-May-2008 PCIJ
The Philippines Senate’s ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) is not likely to push through until, possibly, this August.
European Union prods RP on drafting PCA
30-Apr-2008 Yehey
The European Union has urged the Philippines to start negotiations for the partnership cooperation agreement, a prerequisite deal for Manila to qualify in the comprehensive free-trade agreement between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.