The leader of the Magnificent 7 on Tuesday urged senators on Monday to reject the proposed the amendments to the Public Service Act, federalism and revival of the death penalty, which were prioritized for consideration in the last few session days of the 17th Congress.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the Senate must reject the amendments to the Public Service Act, which allows aliens and foreign corporations to own and operate public utilities previously reserved for Filipino citizens or corporations.
He said a constitutional amendment is needed before allowing foreign corporations to own and operate public utilities in the country.
Lagman said House Bill 5828 provides for a statutory definition of a public-utility, which, he said, “is actually a subterfuge to allow foreigners to own public-utility enterprises without complying with the citizenship requirement imposed by the Constitution.”
According to Lagman, the bill has deleted the requisite Filipino ownership requirement of public utilities under the Public Service Act, which is identical with Section 11 of Article XII of the Constitution.
“In its definition of a public utility, HB 5828 deliberately deleted the concept of ownership and limited the definition to the operation, management and control of public utilities even as there can be no operation, management or control without a qualified owner,” he added.
Lagman said the bill also deletes from the enumeration of public utilities traditional public utilities like common carriers and telecommunications companies, which are presently operating with controlling Filipino ownership.
The bill amending the Public Service Act has already been transmitted to the Senate in September 2017.
Con-ass
Lagman said opposition to a constituent assembly (Con-ass) and federalism must relentlessly continue and must carry over to the incoming 18th Congress.
“A strong argument, if not the strongest, against constituting the House of Representatives and the Senate into a constituent assembly is that the supermajority solons will convert the constituent assembly into a virtual rubber stamp of President Rodrigo Duterte,” he added.
“The subservience to the administration, which is now happening in the House, will certainly happen in the projected constituent assembly composed of the supermajority blindly allied with the President,” Lagman said.
The lawmaker said it must be underscored that the undue haste in shifting from the unitary to the federal system of government will further deteriorate the economy.
Citing the previous position aired by National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Ernesto Pernia, Lagman noted the country’s lack of preparedness for a shift to federalism because: The majority of our regions are fiscally ill-prepared and implementing it before we are ready will be detrimental to economic growth; and it may shred the country’s balance sheet and could have negative implications for public finances.
The resolution convening the Congress into constitutional assembly has been adopted by the chamber in January 2018.
Death penalty
Lagman also called on the Senate to reject the revival of the death penalty, which was already approved by the House in 2017.
He said data show that the death penalty is not a deterrent to the commission of crimes even as the crime rate has gone down.
“Punitive justice is not the avenue to achieve justice, because vengeance is never justice, and the imposition of capital punishment is not a precursor to judicial reforms,” he added.
Lagman also urged the Senate to reject the House-approved measure lowering of the age of criminal responsibility.
“Neuroscientific research documents that the brains of children do not fully develop until their early 20s, meaning children between the ages of 12 to 15 may still have reduced discernment to justify the imposition of criminal culpability on them,” Lagman said.
He said the present Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 must be fully implemented with the assurance of adequate funding for non-penal institutions and programs for children in conflict with the law.