ASEAN integration seen to increase demand for high-skilled Pinoys

BAGUIO CITY – The forthcoming integration of the 10-member ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) can increase the demand for high-skilled Filipino workers abroad.

Ma. Victoria Españo, chairperson and chief executive officer of Punongbayan & Araullo, said there will be a free flow of professional services through mutual recognition agreements (MRA) due to AEC.

“I think it (AEC) is positive for us because our number one resource is our skilled people. To the extent that our people will be recognized in other countries to be qualified to work there, that’s going to be a positive for us,” she said in an interview on the sidelines of a seminar here sponsored by San Miguel Corp.

MRA is a multilateral arrangement among ASEAN countries or bilateral arrangement between two ASEAN countries to enable professionals registered in its signatory countries to be equally recognized in another signatory country.

Españo said ASEAN MRA facilitates mobility of practitioners within ASEAN and exchange information and enhance cooperation in respect of mutual recognition of practitioners.

She said that so far, professions recognized under MRA include engineering services, nursing services, architecture, medicine, dentistry, tourism services, and accountancy.

“We need Philippine profession framework aligned with ASEAN qualification framework,” she added.

ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF), a common reference framework, will function as a translation device to enable comparisons of qualifications across participating ASEAN Countries.

In order to realize these potential opportunities of the AEC, Españo underscored the need to enhance the country’s education competitiveness. –Leslie D. Venzon, Philippines News Agency