The institutionalization of a social clause in an agreement which is binding among the
signatories is difficult to support as it always entails having to touch issues like protectionism,
and political, economic and cultural hegemony. The barrier of distrust between the "pro" and
the "anti" social clause groups has become too deeply entrenched in the Asia Pacific to elicit a
consensus that can be embodied in a ratified agreement. It is in this light that the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum seems to be a more practicable approach.
This, thesis begins on the recognition that APEC exists and the Philippines is actively
participating in it — the critical issue now is to make it an institution that will safeguard labor
rights, not contribute further to their violation. Vital to the understanding of APEC is that it is
more of a process rather than a solid institution. The APEC process is consensus-based and
therefore functions well as a vessel for the harmonious and beneficial navigation by member
economies of the treacherous waters of global trade. Because of the apparent voluntary character
of member countries' commitments, some cause-oriented groups consider this process as an
opportunity for interjecting social issues in APEC trade discussions by influencing civil society
and thereby ultimately putting pressure on their respective governments to include these issues
in the countries' individual commitments.
This thesis is divided into four main chapters. The first chapter gives a historical analysis of the
Philippines' journey toward trade liberalization in an increasingly globalizing world economy.
The early stages of the country's trade liberalization program were plagued by a fundamental
problem: the policies at the macro-economic level conflicted with the goal of liberalization, for
they were hinged on an unsustainable level of foreign borrowing and on domestic politics of
corruption and exploitation of human resource.
The second chapter analyses the APEC objectives of free trade and the Philippines' trade
liberalization commitments within that forum. It is argued that the country's bold and unilateral
initiatives toward the fulfillment of the Bogor Declaration are unsustainable because of the
government's misplaced fundamentals of competitiveness and lack of social support measures.
The third chapter is a theoretical review of the linkage between the social clause and the liberal
trading order with references to the North-South divide. It is argued that given a basically similar
rationale — rejection of protectionism and of exploitation of labor — there could be an
alternative path between the two opposing camps through which labor rights can be discussed
and considered in a regional trade forum.
The concluding chapter explores the different ways with which the labor movement can tap the
human development and sustainable development aspects of the APEC forum. There is a need
to develop and utilize a counter-consciousness in policy making which will inject a critical
approach to the Philippines' ardent drive to attain global competitiveness. It is concluded that
there is a possibility of creating a political space for non-government organizations (NGOs),
private organizations (POs) and social movements to meaningfully participate in the APEC
process and help in safeguarding social concerns, particularly labor rights.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8114 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Amba-Cuenca, Maria Dulce Cecilia B. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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