THE LONG ROAD AHEAD
STATUS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ASEAN MUTUAL RECOGNITION ARRANGEMENTS ON PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Guntur Sugiyarto
© 2017 Asian Development Bank
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Some rights reserved. Published in 2017.
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ISBN 978-92-9257-735-3 (Print), 978-92-9257-736-0 (e-ISBN)
Publication Stock No. RPT178637-2
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/RPT178637-2
Cataloging-In-Publication Data
Asian Development Bank.
The long road ahead: Status report on the implementation of the ASEAN mutual recognition arrangements on professional services.
Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2017.
1. Skill mobility. 2. Migrant workers. 3. Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 4. Economic community. 5. Mutual Recognition Arrangement. 6. Migration Policy Institute. I. Asian Development Bank.
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Acknowledgments
This report was made possible with the generous support of the Asian Development Bank’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction. The authors gratefully acknowledge the thoughtful comments of Migration Policy Institute’s Demetrios G. Papademetriou; the editorial contributions of MPI’s Lauren Shaw; and the invaluable research assistance of MPI’s Brian Salant, Joel Hernandez, Caitlin Katsiaficas, and Chenyu Liang; and Eric Suan, Katrina Navallo, Anna Rosario Malindog-Uy, and Marsmath Baris, Jr., at ADB. Joe Mark Ganaban assisted in typesetting.
The authors are also very grateful to Supang Chantanavich, Aris Ananta, Paryono, Sothea Oum, Sengxay Phousinghoa, Siti Rosina Attaullah, Ye Swe Htoon, Fernando Aldaba, and Nguyen Thi Thai Lan, Jeanne Batalova, and Maria Vincenza Desiderio for providing their expertise and for directly assisting in preparing and administering the surveys and conducting the focus group discussions and meetings that significantly contributed to the findings of this report.
The authors give special thanks to Rana Hasan, Ong Keng Yong, Tan Sri Munir Majid, Yoko Ishikura, Hiroshi Kato, Ichiro Tambo, Akira Murata, Teresita Manzala, Jose Cueto, Megawati Santoso, Leandro Conti, Shandre Thangevelu, Estelita Aguirre, Eddy Krismeidi Soemawilaga, Lesleyanne Hawthorne, and Richard Bedford for providing their significant time and expertise and important referrals. They also thank Imelda Nicolas, former Secretary of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.
Finally, they are deeply indebted to Bambang Susantono, ADB vice-president, and Michael Fix, MPI President, for their integral guidance and support in preparing this report.
Executive Summary
Nearly a decade ago, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)1 signed Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) in seven occupations (accountancy, architecture, dentistry, engineering, medicine, nursing, and tourism) as well as a Framework Arrangement on Mutual Recognition in surveying,2 designed to facilitate professional mobility within the region. MRAs are not easy to operationalize, however. ASEAN Member States face a new set of challenges in moving from the negotiation to the implementation stage.
There has been progress primarily in two areas: (1) the creation of implementing offices and bodies at the regional and national levels as outlined in the MRAs; and (2) the incorporation or transposition of MRA principles into national laws. There is a tremendous backlog, however, in a third key area: (3) the operationalization of MRA principles into detailed regulations, plans, procedures, and mechanisms that professionals can utilize now.