CONGRESS has moved closer toward Charter change (Cha-cha) after the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading on Wednesday its proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
The amendments are contained in the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, which was passed by the Lower House with a vote of 288 in favor and eight against and two abstentions.
House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez lauded the development, which he called the “last piece in the puzzle of investment measures” of the Marcos administration.
He noted the restrictions continue to negate the effects of probusiness legislation such as the Ease of Doing Business Act, Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Law and the Foreign Investment Act, when it comes to attracting investments in the country.
“These changes, if ratified by our people in a plebiscite, will greatly boost these measures, including our President’s investment missions abroad which have generated actual investments and pledges in the billions of dollars and created thousands of jobs,” Romualdez said.
RBH No. 6 and RBH No. 7 are both entitled, “A Resolution of Both Houses of Congress proposing amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, particularly on Articles Xll, XlV and XVl.”
Among the salient features of RBH 7 is it will allow Congress to pass laws to adjust the present foreign equity limitations. It proposed the addition of the qualifier “basic” to Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV, the provision on educational institutions presently required to be owned 60-40 by Filipino citizens or corporations.
Also in the amendment is the addition of the phrase, “unless otherwise provided by law,” to the last sentence of Article XIV on control and administration of educational institutions mandated to be vested in Filipino citizens under the Charter’s present wording.
RBH No. 7 and RBH No. 6 likewise restate the provision of the Constitution that Congress may propose amendments “upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members.”
RBH 7 was passed after two weeks of “exhaustive plenary deliberations,” wherein House members questioned resource persons and experts, who opposed or supported chacha, and before the HOR and the Senate go on their Holy Week Break from March 23 to April 28.
Romualdez urged the Senate to also pass its own version of the RBH 7 soon to pave way for the plebiscite needed for amending the Constitution.