MANILA and Tokyo are expected to tackle the mutual recognition of professionals in the next review of the Philippine-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJepa).
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has confirmed that it has been tapped by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to activate for the first time the special subcommittee for mutual recognition agreement (MRA) since it was included in the PJepa in 2013.
“[The] PRC was called to lead the discussion, and we emphasized that we cannot do otherwise since it is part of the agreement that the special subcommittee on MRA should be activated. Recently, they [Japan] finally agreed,” PRC International Committee Negotiations Division Chief L. Louis P. Valera told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
“This is a big development…it would provide us a very conducive platform to negotiate a mutual recognition,” he said.
Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay, who is also part of the subcommittee for mutual recognition, said the MRA will allow specific professionals in the Philippines and Japan to practice their professions in both countries.
Valera, however, said the subcommittee has yet to negotiate which professions maybe subjected to an MRA.
“That is what is good about it. It is still open [for discussion]. Because if on the onset we [have] already identified the professions, then our talks will be restricted to those,” Valera said.
The PRC added the special subcommittee under the Movement of Natural Person Committee of PJepa has already convened in the past to discuss the MRA for engineering, but no conclusive result was achieved.
“Japan was initially lukewarm about it…[even as the] Philippines continued to articulate about it in its every meeting…. It never left the ground,” Valera said.
Japan is currently undergoing significant migration policy reforms to allow more foreigners to enter its work force, amid its worsening labor shortage due to its dwindling and aging population.
Tutay said the review of the PJepa is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
“In September there is a scheduled joint committee meeting in Japan. Before that, representatives from the Philippines and Japan will be meeting to discuss each other’s requests and exchange notes,” Tutay said.
Unsure protection
IN a related development, Migrante International (MI) Spokesman Arman Hernando urged the Duterte administration to ensure the protection of Filipinos who will be deployed in Japan under the Technical Internship Training Program (TITP).
The Philippines and Japanese governments signed last year a new agreement for the TITP, wherein Filipinos will be allowed to enter Japan as trainees to get work experience with an entitlement for allowances.
Hernando, however, expressed concern over this TITP arrangement since Filipinos will be deployed in Japan as trainees rather than as workers, and thus unprotected by labor laws and policies there.
“This is another form of labor ‘flexibilization.’ They are called as trainees to reduce their guarantees as workers,” Hernando said in an ambush interview.
“Trainees will have no job security, even if they have a contract. Upon being reviewed [by a company] that they were not able to pass the necessary standards, they could be retrenched,” he added.
The MI said since trainees have fewer protection, they will be more vulnerable to labor abuses.
Hernando aded the government should put up the necessary protective measures for Filipino trainees in Japan.
“The government should be able to guarantee the protection of the Filipinos, even if they are trainees or ‘irregular’ workers, through a clear labor migration policy,” Hernando said.
“This could be contained in a bilateral agreement containing provisions in international standards on the protection of migrants,” he added.
In a previous interview, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said that the necessary protective measures for TITP will be put into place.
POEA is targeting to deploy the first batch of Filipinos to Japan under the TITP during the third quarter of the year.
Over 500,000 jobs are expected to be available in Japan under the TITP up to 2025.