Is the country ready for AEC? (Part 2)

As a member of ASEAN, the Philippines is expected to be prepared for the said integration. Unfortunately, very little is heard from the Philippine government and the populace in general, regarding the efforts to meet the AEC 2015 launch. As time grows short, there is but one question that persists in the Filipinos’ minds: is the Philippines ready for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015? As per IDEA, in a 2013 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, the progress of the Philippines thus far in implementing the AEC Blueprint is outlined, together with its score for the AEC Scorecard. For Phase I, the Philippines obtained an implementation rate equal to 95 percent, which translates to implementing 104 out of the 110 measures needed for Phase I. As for Phase II, the Philippines obtained an implementation rate of 73 percent, or 96 out of 131 necessary measures. For both phases, the country is lagging in implementing measures from the first pillar (single market and production base). While the Philippines seems to be committed to meeting the AEC launch and executing the AEC Blueprint, many have pointed out that the country may be far from ready for the 2015 integration.