A broad coalition of various agriculture stakeholders would like to see “ironclad commitments” before Senate concurs the ratification of the mega trade deal Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

A statement released over the weekend, the coalition of workers and trade advocates decried the “rush to ratify RCEP” and vowed to continue to “fight against liberalization policies that have decimated Philippine agriculture.”

Former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor and chairman of the Federation of Free Farmers representing 131 farmer-fisher-NGOs, labor groups, urged the Senate to instead adopt “ironclad commitments” stating that many in the proposed “guidelines” are just a “copy paste” of ongoing severely underfunded and often poorly executed program.

By “ironclad”, Montemayor said they are referring to concrete government programs with assured funds and timebound programs, “not very loose terms like guidelines which are more in the nature of suggestions.”

Montemayor was reacting to the oversight committee that the Senators agreed to form to come up with guidelines for the executive branch to implement to be attached as an annex to the RCEP ratification. Montemayor further noted that the draft guidelines just mentioned like rice and farmer programs.

Senator Loren Legarda, who chaired the hearing on RCEP, pushed for the setting of targets and timeframes for the programs that are responsive to the needs of farmers, small business and other production sectors after by RCEP.

Montemayor even doubted the assurance that farmers will be give slots in the oversight committee on RCEP.

Despite the 16 Senators who already signed the RCEP committee report and a sponsorship by Senate President Miguel Zubiri and a signal towards eventual concurrence, Montemayor said their coalition remains hopeful that Senators will listen to them during the interpellations, which are expected to start today Monday, Feb. 20.

During the Feb. 7 hearing on the newly established Subcommittee on RCEP under the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the coalition delivered a message to the Senate, a policy-setting and oversight institution.

The coalition has urged the government to come up with adequate, time-bound and mandatory “safety net” and “competitiveness-enhancement” measures, which should be in place before the Senate’s final decision on RCEP.

The demand from the sector was not merely to have guidelines as a prerequisite for Senate concurrence but to emplace the necessary measures, policies and programs prior to concurrence. “Only then could the potential threats be averted and possible benefits be realized from the agreement,” the statement added.

They also inquired whether or not the “neoliberalism mindset that has guided past and present free trade agreements like RCEP as well as Philippine development programs provides a real path to sustainable progress for Filipinos, especially the poor and the marginalized.”

The coalition said they will discuss the next steps moving forward not just on the conditionalities set forth in the proposed Senate Resolution, but more importantly in the continuing fight against neoliberal economic policies that have decimated Philippine agriculture.

So far, the Philippines is the sole ASEAN country that has not yet concurred the RCEP ratification.