NGO: PHL not ready for Asean integration

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—A non-governmental organization focused on the development of human resource as a primary driver of business and national economic growth, is wary of the seeming unpreparedness of the Philippines once the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), as one economic community, commence in 2015.

The People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) underscored the government’s non-urgent stance on the Asean integration and whether or not the majority of Filipinos are aware of the issue.

Josephus B. Jimenez, PMAP president, said after numerous consultations, they found “there is an endemic apprehension that our country is really not ready to face the reality of integration, with all its facets, dimensions and far-reaching implications.”

“The government has not sounded a call, much less an urgent call to put our acts together,” Jimenez said.

At the onset of the Asean Integration, PMAP said the program of implementation would remove all restrictions on trade in the four priority service sectors, such as transport and logistics supply chain; research, information technology, media and arts; health care and tourism; and human capital management.

Jimenez said once fully integrated, people in the Asean can freely roam and make a living anywhere in any of the countries. Without a clear government guideline, Filipino professionals and skilled workers would be pirated by member-countries, particularly in education and health services.

“This would be to our disadvantage and there is a great danger since we would lose many of our professionals to any of the Asean countries.” Jimenez said.

Although the Asean integration would create an economy of scale to the world, the country’s leaders have not discussed how skilled Filipino workers could be at par with workers of other Asean members.

“Somehow we neglected to prepare [for the integration] and we will be facing difficulties, but it’s not too late than do it later,” Jimenez said.

The PMAP—with its 2,000 member-companies and individual management executives engaged in human resource management and industrial relations work—has offered government solutions to the perceived difficulties in handling the Asean integration.

“That is why we are preparing a road map that would somehow harmonize our position with other countries, where we are vis-à-vis the inevitable eventuality of the Asean integration,” Jimenez said.

The PMAP said the road map would be ready by June this year. –Butch D. Enerio / Correspondent