
The Philippines is the latest country in Southeast Asia to join the world’s largest free trade deal after the Senate concurred with the ratification of the country’s membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or RCEP. At least 20 senators signed the resolution concurring in the ratification of RCEP. Under the Constitution, any treaty or international agreement requires the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the Senate for it to be valid. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. ratified RCEP in November last year and later submitted it to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate defied calls from various sectors to reject the deal which, they said, could hurt the local agriculture sector.