The objective of the study is to examine the political economy of enacting new legislation required to fulfill the commitments of the Philippines in APEC. In particular, the paper describes the process involved in the formulation and deliberation of proposed legislation, identifies the players involved in this process, examines the conflicts of interest encountered in ensuring the passage of such legislation and process measures to address these problems. This study limits itself to three areas: (a) retail trade, (b) financial services, and (c) the agricultural sector. The study catalogues the major commitments of the Philippines to APEC in the above-mentioned three areas; analyzes the legislative measures that seek to operationalize these commitments; identifies the various interest groups involved in the process of formulating the required legislative measures; and examines the status and adequacy of the legislative measures in meeting the requirements of liberalization under APEC in the three areas of concern.
