Abad said the Philippines should embrace the ASEAN integration as soon as possible as this would actually benefit the country.
He said it would force the cartels and monopolies that are currently controlling the country’s economy to be more disciplined, follow the rules of the market, improve their products and lower their prices, Abad said.
“We must jump into this, we must embrace ASEAN integration as soon as possible because I think the Philippines will be probably be one of the countries that will benefit most from this ASEAN integration,” he said during the ASEAN in Focus interview.
He also pushed for the immediate amendment of the economic provisions in the constitution, particularly the removal of the economic restrictions, that he said is not anymore viable in the AEC scenario.