How are the ASEAN+1 free trade agreements facilitating the flow of goods in the supply chain in East Asia? This chapter looks at the experience of the Philippine automotive and electronic sectors--two sectors that are well integrated into the supply network in East Asia. Using firm interviews,...

As 2015 draws near, assessing ASEAN's progress toward the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) defined by the AEC Blueprint is necessary and instructive. This paper constitutes the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the AEC Blueprint for the Philippines. The Philippines Country Report presents the results of...

The Philippines has been more cautious in its policy toward free trade agreements (FTAs) than other ASEAN member-states, having signed, so far, only one bilateral agreement with Japan in addition to the various ASEAN+1 agreements. While the government is expected to progressively reduce...

The Philippines demonstrated significant economic growth - and is still gaining momentum - in recent years. This was after being tagged as the 'sick man of Asia' for showing slow growth while its Asian neighbors flourished. To sustain the current growth momentum and make it inclusive,...

The private sector is the driver of growth in most ASEAN economies. It is therefore expected to play a significant role in the process of economic integration in ASEAN. In the Philippines, the private sector has dominated the economy, contributing about 95 percent of GDP, but it has not lived up...

The performance of the Philippine automotive industry has steadily improved after the Asian crisis. However, relative to the performance of the automotive industry in other countries, the automotive sector in the country has languished. To understand the challenges being faced by the automotive...

Unfair trade practices (UTPs) demonstrate anticompetitive behavior which can be characterized into two general types: exclusionary abuse - an act of the firm (or a group of firms) to prevent entry of potential firms; or exploitative abuse - referring to actual abuse of market power. However,...

The slow progress of the Cadastral Survey Program in the Philippines has been associated with implementation issues that have affected the effectiveness and efficiency of the program. A review of the processes, procedures, and existing institutional set-up in the conduct of cadastral surveys...

This study looks at the effectiveness of the strategy and the complementary interventions of the Sustainable Livelihood Program's Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SLP SEA-K). The SLP SEA-K uses a microcredit strategy that intends to provide credit access to the poor, improve the ability of...

This paper is a narrative account and assessment of the grassroots participatory budgeting (GPB) process in three municipalities of the Negros Province, namely, Sagay City, Hinigaran, and Cauayan. The GPB process was implemented with the objective of empowering civil society organizations (CSOs)...