DFA chief vows to push pro-RP garments industry bill in US

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario admitted that pushing for the passage in the United States Congress of a garments legislation that is favorable to the Philippines is a tough crusade but vowed to continue the fight for it relentlessly to ensure job generation and help revive the ailing textile sector in the country.

If enacted, the bill known as the Save Our Industries Act or Save Act, would allow the duty-free entry of apparel products made in the Philippines using US fabrics or yarn to the US.

“It’s an uphill battle but we’re trying to do our best,” Del Rosario told the Manila Overseas Press Club last week. “We are trying to marshal our forces, including the Filipino diaspora in the US who are fully behind this.”

Del Rosario announced the “big push is coming,” but said “it has to be done by latter part of the year” or before the US presidential elections.

“If we don’t do it then we would have failed in terms of pushing forward to this initiative,” he said.

Introduced in June 2009, the legislation would slash US tariffs on certain categories on Philippine-produced garments made of American textiles.

During its peak in 2003, the Philippine garments export industry had a 600,000-strong workforce but was cut down to 150,000 as cheaper garments are being manufactured from neighboring countries like China.

The bill failed to pass the US Congress in 2010 for lack of support from lawmakers but was recently re-filed.

“We’re looking for preferential treatment in terms of our garments sector. We’re proposing that textiles would come from the US and then we would manufacture the garments here for export back to the US,” Del Rosario said.

He added the support of key US government officials and the Filipino-American community is vital to ensure the passage of the bill.

The bill will need 218 votes in the House of Representatives or 290 or two-thirds votes without debate. At the Senate, the legislation would require 51 votes to pass or 60 or three-fifths votes.

Manila had long appealed to Filipino-Americans to write their corresponding congressmen and senators to pass the bill.

Diplomatic efforts, on the other hand, are being undertaken to convince more US lawmakers to support the passage of the Save Act.  –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune