ASEAN Reflection Paper

LCASEAN Reflection Paper #2
Espinosa, Liandra Elise C. May 8, 2021
1. Would you think that the Philippines would be able to fully benefit from this economic
integration? What are some of the internal challenges that the Philippines needs to surmount in
order to maximize potential benefits from ASEAN economic integration?
According to PublicAffairsAsia (n.d.), the ASEAN economic integration executes its vision to
consider the ASEAN community as a single market where there are several business opportunities, free
flow of goods, services, investments, and a more liberal movement of capital and skills. With this being
said, it is highly likely that the Philippines would be able to benefit from the ASEAN economic
integration. Due to the increase in trade and investments brought about by the ASEAN economic
integration, a wide choice of goods for consumers arised and this led to supporting local businesses to
expand overseas (People’s Television, 2017). In the perspective of the Philippines, local brands such as
Jack ‘n Jill, Penshoppe, Oishi, and several others can be found in Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos,
Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, which are within the ASEAN community.
Aside from the benefit that the Philippines incurred from trade, it also benefited in regards to investments.
An example of this is that of San Miguel Corp. and Julie’s bakeshop being apparent in Indonesia, and the
Indonesian brand Kopiko, which is well known here in the Philippines. With this, there has been a direct
correlation between the ASEAN economic growth and the economic growth of the ASEAN community
(Patron, 2017). Moreover, not only does the Philippines benefit from the economic integration in regards
to economic growth and trade but also in tourism. Since there is no requirement for a visa among the
ASEAN community, it is less costly and tedious for tourists to visit the Philippines and Filipinos who
want to visit the other member countries. Moreover, it also boosts the economy. Due to the covid-19
pandemic, which gives rise to internal challenges that the Philippines must surmount, it would be difficult
for the ASEAN members to maximize economic integration. With the spread of the virus, travelling to
other destinations are hindered and tourists would also be discouraged. The same goes with trade since the
limited workforce would make it difficult for goods to be transported. In order to maximize the benefits of
the ASEAN economic integration, it is significant that the integration must adapt to the current
circumstances. Examples would be efficiently marketing tourist destinations on social media platforms
since it is one of the strongest modes of advertisement especially during this time. Through this, people
would still be updated in regards to the ASEAN community tourist destinations. Products and services
within the ASEAN community member countries should also be available for purchase online since it
fosters easy access to purchasing goods. These examples would not only aid in maximizing the benefits of
the economic integration, but boost the economy as well.
2. Given the comparatively higher skill level of the Philippine workforce compared to other
countries in ASEAN what do you think would be the implication of the Philippines' economy being
integrated with the region? In what way can ASEAN improve the mobility of people in the region
such as tourists, professionals including university students?
The ASEAN economic integration has been receiving positive feedback, as employers would agree that
increased workforce mobility, lower trade, barriers and liberalized investment flows will prove positive
for their businesses (International Labour Organization, 2014). It has also been proven that regional
integration boosts the competitiveness of labor workers especially if it is coupled with quality educational
programmes and investments in training. According to the International Labour Organization study,
employers report that they are more likely to invest in programmes that build leadership and capacity
around management (2014). In regards to the Philippines, despite having a comparatively higher skill
level, graduates still fall short at a technical level, as their skills and quality could still be improved.
However, there is a high demand for labor workers in areas such as furniture making, automotive
manufacturing, tourism, power utilities, and building construction. To be able to further boost the
Philippine economy, there must be a greater demand for workers who are interested in white-collar jobs.
Moreover, due to the issues and negative circumstances brought about by the pandemic, the mobility of
people in the region such as professionals, tourists, and university students, are greatly affected. To be
able to mitigate these issues, the governments and private sectors should cooperate and utilize social
media marketing campaigns to publicize the need for skilled technical workers and integrate quality
standard frameworks for training programmes educational wise. Since it is difficult to execute these face
to face, it would be more efficient to bring it online. Jobs or work must now adapt to the online setting
while the pandemic is still far from being resolved. This would cater to more business opportunities and
the increase in employment rate would yield to a boost in the economy.
References
International Labor Organization. (2014, May). Survey of ASEAN employers on skills and
competitiveness.
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-bangkok/documents/publi
cation/wcms_249982.pdf
People’s Television. (2017, July 30). ASEAN integration benefits the PH economy.
https://ptvnews.ph/asean-integration-benefits-ph-economy/
PublicAffairsAsia. (n.d.). ASEAN’s future impact on the Philippines.

https://publicaffairsasia.com/aseans-future-impact-on-the-philippines/
Subhan, A. (2018, May 9). ASEAN Economic Integration.

https://theaseanpost.com/article/asean-economic-integration

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LCASEAN Reflection Paper #2

Espinosa, Liandra Elise C. May 8, 2021

PublicAffairsAsia. (n.d.). ASEAN’s future impact on the Philippines.

Subhan, A. (2018, May 9). ASEAN Economic Integration.

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