Two trade policy experts have been appointed to the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Industry Development and Trade Policy Group (IDTPG). The DTI said Rafaelita Aldaba has been appointed as assistant secretary for industry development. Prior to her appointment, Aldaba served as acting vice president of state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) since 2012. While working in PIDS, she has written several research papers focusing on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic integration; micro, small and medium enterprises; trade liberalization; competition policy; industrial policies; free trade agreements (FTA) and foreign direct investments.
Aldaba has also served as team leader at the Asian Development Bank and worked as project manager for various inter-agency research projects. Aside from Aldaba, also appointed to the IDTPG is Ceferino Rodolfo, as assistant secretary for industry development and trade policy. Before being named as a trade official earlier this year, Rodolfo served as vice dean and acting dean of the School of Management at University of Asia and the Pacific since 2009 and was part of its core faculty for competitive strategy and business economics. Rodolfo’s expertise includes trade policy, industrial policy, and international trade and negotiations. The IDTPG is responsible for investment promotion in activities critical to the DTI’s trade and industry development program. "The appointments of Rodolfo and Aldaba are timely as they are necessary now that we are at the high point of elevating our trade engagements with our traditional and pioneering trade partners, while we work to improve our country’s competitiveness through the Industry Roadmaps Project,” Trade Undersecretary for IDTPG Adrian Cristobal Jr. said. "Their expertise and involvement in both these processes will contribute greatly in achieving our goals for industry development and policy reform,” he added. The Philippines is preparing for negotiations for a possible FTA with the European Free Trade Association and the E uropean Union to promote greater economic trade and investment relations with the two groups. Cristobal said the Philippines is also interested in becoming part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement which aims to establish a free trade bloc representing more than half of global output and over 40 percent of world trade. The Philippines is currently part of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership which aims to consolidate all the ASEAN plus agreements into one regional free trade network. To date, the country has signed FTAs with Japan and the ASEAN as well as with China, Korea, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand through the ASEAN.
