MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday welcomed a House panel’s approval of the proposed economic amendments in the 1987 Constitution, calling it “a big step towards the country’s long-term recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The passage of the resolution is one giant step towards achieving our goal of improving the investment climate of the country which has been curtailed for the past 34 years by the outdated economic provisions of the constitution and devastated by the global pandemic,” DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.

The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments on Tuesday adopted a resolution amending certain “restrictive” economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.

The Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2 authored by House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco was approved after 62 members of the committee voted in its favor. Three lawmakers voted against it while three abstained.

RBH 2 proposes to add the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” to constitutional provisions which provides that only Filipino citizens can control, own, and/or lease alienable lands of public domain, natural resources, public utilities, educational institutions, mass media companies, and advertising companies in the Philippines.

Malaya said opening the economy to foreign investors would yield more jobs, generate more funds for the treasury, and strengthen foreign partnerships for economic growth and sustainability.

The committee, however, excluded RBH 2’s original proposal to allow foreigners to own private land in the Philippines.

“The DILG fully supports the decision of the Committee to prohibit foreigners from owning private land in the country. Foreign investors can always do long-term leases for their factories and houses, so this will have no impact on the quality of foreign investment,” Malaya said.

He assured that the DILG would help Congress in explaining to the people the benefits to be derived from lifting the economic restrictions in the 34-year-old Charter.

“We are confident that the lifting of these restrictions would lead to the entry of more foreign investors and capital to pump-prime the economy and replace the jobs that were lost because of the pandemic,” he said.

He said that the Constitution was written 34 years ago when the dominant idea was protectionism.

“The approval would send a strong signal to the world that the Philippines, like other governments which instituted constitutional reforms, is now ready to provide an attractive investment climate and make the necessary adjustments in the economy to make progress trickle down to the poor,” Malaya said.

MANILA, Philippines — Citing the Philippines as having the most restricted economy for foreign investors, top finance and trade officials expressed support for the proposed amendment in the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

These provisions, they say, limit the participation of foreign investors in the country.

This is one of the main reasons why the Philippine economy is far behind its neighbors like Vietnam.

“With average growth rate of over 6% for 14 consecutive quarters, we also know that such growth rates could even have much higher if we were able to remove basic restrictions as to foreign ownership in certain sectors stipulated in the constitution,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez during the House hearing on Tuesday (January 26).

The 1987 Constitution provides that at least 60% of public utility enterprises’ capital stock must be owned by Filipino citizens or corporations.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez believes it is time that the Philippines further open up its economy.

“We must open it up as wide as we can with the exception of land ownership,” he said.

Even economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, expressed his support to amend the law’s economic provisions.

He believes that the international community has grown uninterested in a number of economic restrictions in the country.

During the hearing, Villegas noted how they were traumatized by abuses during the 10-year reign of martial law under former president Ferdinand Marcos and the EDSA Revolution.

But then he realized that indeed, there is a need to amend the 34-year old Constitution.

“That is why some people refer to the 1987 constitution as an anti-Marcos Constitution,” he said.

“We included so many minute pieces of legislation, as a constitutionalist will say, do not deserve to be the fundamental law of the land. And that is why irrespective of the timing sooner or later, we have to amend this Constitution not only economic provision but many other political provisions,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, during his opening remarks, House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairperson Alfredo Garbin Jr. made it clear that the hearing would be limited to the law’s economic provisions.

“Ang sentro lamang ng diskusyon dito ay restrictive economic provisions, walang term extension, walang lifting of term limits, walang political provisions (The center of today’s discussion is only on the restrictive economic provisions – no term extension, no lifting of term limits, no political provisions),” Garbin noted.

The committee plans to resume its discussion on the resolution filed by House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco next week. –MNP (with reports from Rey Pelayo)

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments is set to conduct a hearing this week to discuss the timing of efforts to push for Charter Change anew amid the coronavirus pandemic, panel chairperson Senator Francis Pangilinan said on Monday.

In a statement, Pangilinan said the hearing, which is scheduled on Wednesday, January 27, will consult representatives from sectors affected by the proposed amendments.

Among the resource persons who have confirmed their attendance to the hearing are 1987 Constitution Framers Florangel Rosario Braid, Atty. Christian Monsod, and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide.

Also attending the hearing are Priest Ranhilio Aquino, former Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, and Department of Justice Chief State Counsel George Ortha II.

Pangilinan said the hearing will tackle procedural concerns and “prejudicial questions” that need to be considered relative to the proposed Charter change.

“Una, given Covid and ‘yung ating krisis sa ekonomiya, napapanahon ba mag-Charter Change? Pangalawa, kung napapanahon ang Charter change, ito ba ay dapat con-ass [constitutional assembly] o con-con [constitutional convention]? Tapos pangatlo, kung con-con, e ‘di maliwanag yung eleksyon, kailan?” he said.

“Kung con-ass naman, mayroon pang isang isyu na hanggang ngayon hindi pa nareresolba: Ito ba ay dapat voting jointly ang Senate at House. Ibig sabihin ay 300 plus senators and congressmen sabay boboto ng three-fourths vote? O three-fourths vote separately, ibig sabihin three-fourths vote ang Senate, at three-fourths vote ng House,” he added.

The hearing will discuss Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s Resolution of Both Houses No. 1, Senators Francis Tolentino and Ronald Dela Rosa’s RBH No. 2, as well as Senator Richard Gordon’s Senate Joint Resolution No. 1.