The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is ready to endorse for committee approval seven (7) significant international treaties.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, chairperson of the panel, vowed to swiftly clear the backlog of international agreements while ensuring that the Philippines would be able to secure fair and equitable agreements and would not be shortchanged by its global partners.

The said agreements range from aviation security, space objects liability, taxation, higher education, and criminal justice and law enforcement cooperation.

“These are all equally important treaties, but massively beneficial for us in the areas of security, defense, trade and investments, academic competitiveness and mobility, and criminality and justice,” Zubiri said during a public hearing on Thursday, August 20.

Zubiri also assured that the Senate would not blindly approve the agreements, which were affected by the recent leadership changes, without rigorous evaluation.

“We evaluate all these treaties with a sense of caution. We are not here to simply green-light them all without ensuring first that the Philippines is always on equal footing with its treaty partners,” he said.

The treaties currently under the committee's review include:

- Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft (Protocol)

- United Nations Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (Liability Convention)

- Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia for the Elimination of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance (PH-Cambodia DTAA)

- Agreement between the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (MECO-TECO DTAA)

- Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education (Tokyo Convention)

- ASEAN Treaty on Extradition (ATE)

- Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of India (PH-India MLAT)

Especially for the Philippines, Zubiri said it is imperative to concur in the Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, which seeks to strengthen and update the legal framework for dealing with offenses and unruly behavior on board international flights.

Zubiri noticed that the government has yet to adopt the 2014 Montreal Protocol despite its wide acceptance by other countries.

“It’s actually a very simple measure, very straightforward. I don’t know why we have not been able to act on this measure,” he said.

The senator also highlighted the need to concur in the United Nations Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, which has become increasingly relevant as debris from foreign space launches reaches Philippine territory.

Acceding to the treaty will give the country a treaty-based legal framework for claiming compensation should another state’s space activities cause injury or property damage in the Philippines.

“If debris coming from another country falls in the Philippines and damages property or, worse, costs lives, we should have a clear rulebook that allows us to seek compensation and hold the responsible state accountable,” Zubiri noted during the hearing.

The lawmaker also thanked Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa P. Lazaro and representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Office for Transportation Security (OTS), PNP Aviation Security Command, Bureau of Immigration (BI), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Air Carriers Association of the Philippines, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of National Defense (DND), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Economy and Development, (Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine Space Agency, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), National Maritime Center, Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and National Security Council (NSC) for providing technical inputs during the hearing.

Zubiri said the Foreign Relations Committee will now finalize the individual committee reports and seek the approval and signatures of its members before the treaties and agreements can be sponsored and debated in plenary.