Speaking at a press conference, Santiago noted that the contents of the agreement had been made available online, but he complained that it had not been translated from English and that it used too much jargon even in its English version for most members of the public to understand.
“First of all not everyone in the country understands English, not even in Parliament,” he said. “But even those who are proficient in English won’t be able to understand this.”
He added that the topics covered in the TPPA were to broad for any single expert to understand all issues addressed in the agreement.
“Just looking at the chapter on intellectual property rights, it encompasses copyright, patent laws, internet access,” he said. “And not all lawyers who are experts on copyrights are experts on patents, for example.”
He said his office had been receiving phone calls asking him to explain the contents of the TPPA because he had been a vocal critic of it.
“My office will begin the process of opening it up chapter by chapter and inviting reporters to cover what we explain,” he said.
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