The signing of the JPEPA without full public disclosure of the contents of the agreement will manifest the government’s utter disregard for its citizens!“said Representative Mayong Aguja as AKBAYAN and the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) trooped to the Japanese Embassy to call against the reported signing of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) today in Helsinki, Finland.”Signing of the JPEPA without full public disclosure of its contents is a grave injustice to the Filipino people".

Last year, with the government’s adamant refusal to reveal the contents of the JPEPA even to members of Congress, Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party and APL, together with organizations Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK), Akbayan Representatives Mayong Aguja, Etta Rosales and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, CIBAC Rep Joel Villanueva, and Quezon Rep. Erin Tanada, as well as individuals from the labor and peasant sectors filed an Urgent Petition for Mandamus and Prohibition with an Application for the Issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order to compel the disclosure of the full text of the JPEPA, and to restrain its conclusion and signing until genuine public consultation has been conducted with the Filipino people

“The contents of the JPEPA has been kept secret from the public but the agreements therein will bind not just the government but the Filipino once signed. Even the Supreme Court or Congress can do anything about the irreversible effects of its conclusion”, said Aguja. “Trade commitments in JPEPA will have a serious impact in the lives of the average Filipino affecting not only the prices of agricultural and industrial products, but also the job security and employment of the Filipino workers in surviving local industries.”, the militant solon added.

“There is also a real possibility that under the proposed JPEPA, the Philippines will become a dumping ground for the toxic and hazardous waste of Japan” said Josua Mata, Secretary-General of APL. The Philippine government itself has proposed that tariffs on clinical waste, municipal waste, and sewage sludge be reduced to 0%, which is an open invitation to unscrupulous Japanese and Philippine businessmen to engage in the illegal trade of hazardous waste. This is despite the fact that the Philippines is a party to the Basel Convention, and the importation of hazardous and toxic wastes is expressly prohibited under R.A. No. 6969 and R.A. No. 9003.

“The Filipino people deserve to be involved in the crafting of this agreement by being fully apprised of its contents, invoking their Constitutional right to information on matters of public interest” said Mata . “The non-involvement of the Filipino people in the JPEPA negotiation process effectively results in the bargaining away of their economic and property rights without their knowledge and participation, in direct violation of the Constitution” added Mata.