MARLEN V. RONQUILLO
The Philippine Senate ratified the Uruguay Round — General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (UR-GATT) in the dying days of 1994 — that meant the accession of the Philippines into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the new overseer of global trade. Given that the previous efforts at globalizing the international trading environment was focused on industry, the pro-farming, pro-agriculture sector protested the accession. The fear was this. The WTO accession would be a leap into the unknown. It might be, the pro-farming groups said, like jumping from the frying pan into the fires of hell.