To secure support from the Senate, the chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments assured senators that “slight”amendments to the 33-year-old Constitution will just focus on economic provisions to attract foreign investments.
Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., the panel chairman, is urging senators to keep an open mind on “economic Charter change,” which calls for the “minor tweaking” of the Constitution’s economic provisions to attract foreign investments.
“It’s long overdue. The support and the clamor is there. The introduction of the phrase ‘unless otherwise provided by law’ in those restrictive provisions, as proposed by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, will give Congress the flexibility and leeway to alter the restrictions when the economic situation requires it,” said Garbin.
Garbin sought to allay fears expressed by some senators that if they agree to economic Cha-cha, that might open the Charter to wholesale amendments that could lead to extending the term of office of incumbent elective officials and lifting of the term limits.
“We are not proposing to open the basic law of the land to revisions. We want to limit ourselves to provisions relating to the economy and national patrimony. We will not touch the political sections of the Charter,” he said.
The lawmaker said the House leadership has vowed that the chamber would confine itself to economic Cha-cha.
“The Speaker’s assurance will serve as our word of honor. In compliance with the Speaker’s instruction, my committee will not entertain any political amendment proposal,” he said.
Resolution of Both Houses 2, authored by Velasco, seeks to liberalize the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution that prevent the Philippines from becoming fully competitive with its Asian neighbors. The proposal amends Sections 2, 3, 7, 10 and 11 of Article XII (National Patrimony and Economy), Section 4 of Article XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports) and Section 11 of Article XVI (General Provisions) to add the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.” The addition of this phrase will allow Congress to enact laws to free up the economy to foreign investors, or maintain the status quo.
Velasco said Congress is eyeing to present to the public for ratification the amendments to the economic provisions of 1987 Constitution alongside the national elections in 2022.
“We hope to finish the debates before the end of 2021 and present it to the public for ratification alongside the election of new leaders in the 2022 national elections. Until then, we assure the public that the debates on RBH 2 will be transparent and fair,” he said.
Growing support
Several local business and foreign business groups have strongly backed these economic amendments to the 1987 charter.
In a position paper submitted to the committee, John Forbes, senior adviser, American Chamber of Commerce Philippines Inc. (AmCham) and Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC), supported changing the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
He said even though the Philippines has experienced an increase in foreign investments in recent years, it still pales in comparison with its more affluent neighbors in this regard.
He also backs removing the restrictions without conditions, for investment climate policy reform, saying this is to permit more capital to flow into the Philippines to increase the rate of GDP growth and employment.
Forbes also agreed with 100-percent foreign ownership of lands.
Also in a position paper, Makati Business Club (MBC) agreed with the lifting of restrictions and/or putting lower barriers to trade and investment and states amid a competitive global economy, saying “any barrier should be subject to modification, and specific restrictions should be left to the legislature.”
Ibon disagrees
For his part, Sonny Africa, executive director of Ibon Foundation, disagreed with any economic provision changes, arguing that despite the rise in foreign direct investments, this has not benefited the people at large.
He argued that the country’s economy only remains afloat because of the cheap labor export and the corresponding remittances received in return.
Investment climate
Moreover, Garbin said the changes in the Charter’s language “will improve the investment climate and generate much-needed investments and jobs to counteract the economic contraction caused by the pandemic.”
“For the first time in the 33-year history of our Constitution, we in the House see that economic Cha-cha can succeed, if only our counterparts in the Senate will keep an open mind on it and agree to consider relevant proposals from us and from their own colleagues,” he said.
He said the most recent proposal in the Senate came from Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Francis Tolentino, while Senators Richard Gordon and Sherwin Gatchalian had earlier authored similar measures.
He said the insertion of the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in the economic provisions “means that the present limitations will remain, but Congress would be empowered to relax or lift them in the future, depending on the country’s economic situation, to draw more foreign investments that will generate jobs and income for our people.”
Because of the extensive damage wrought by the health crisis on the economy, Garbin said, “we will need foreign funds to recover from the pandemic in the next two-three years.”
He added that economists are projecting that due to the deep economic contraction that has suffered, the country would begin to achieve positive growth only in 2022.
“That is when we hope we already have the constitutional means in place to attract more foreign funds into the country,” he said.