THE House of Representatives on Wednesday started the plenary debates on Resolution of Both Houses 6 calling for a Constitutional Convention to propose amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
In his sponsorship speech, House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairman Rufus Rodriguez said Congress cannot turn its back from the “truth and reality” that the 1987 Constitution needs to be reviewed for being what he called the third most restrictive in the world and the most restrictive in ASEAN.
“Its inflexibility and restrictiveness hampers foreign direct investments (FDIs) to come in as much as they do in other countries. And the fact remains, as was pointed out by the representative of the Management Association of the Philippines, an association of 1,100 member-executives of Philippine listed local and multinational companies, that it is only Congress which can do this, in the exercise of its constituent function reposed upon by the Constitution under Article XVII, Sections 1 and 2. That is to either propose amendments by itself or call for a Constitutional Convention to do the same,” said Rodriguez.
“While we are on the way to recovery, our ASEAN neighbors, notably Vietnam, are already way ahead of us in economic performance. Inflation and fiscal deficits are among the highest in the region, as well as the number of businesses closed. If we are to catch up, we need more FDIs to come in,” he added.
The RBH 6 is calling for a Constitutional Convention where delegates shall both be appointed and elected by the people simultaneously with the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on October 30, 2023.
The convention is mandated, through a process of public hearings and deliberations, to submit the proposed charter change for the people’s ratification which shall be held not earlier than 60 days nor later than 90 days upon approval of the amendments or revisions, and the same shall be valid only when ratified by a majority of the votes cast.
“Nevertheless, such resolution should be implemented through the passage of a bill containing the corresponding appropriation and other details relating to election of delegates, the specific apportionment per district, and the holding of the Constitutional Convention itself, among others. That is why we filed two measures, one for the ‘Calling’, which is RBH, and one as implementing measure, which is a House bill,” said Rodriguez.
Despite the efforts of Congress to address the economic situation of the country, the lawmaker said the Philippines’ FDI regulatory restrictiveness hampers the flow of much-needed foreign investments.
He said FDI standing among Asean countries shows that since the 1980s till the 2010s, the Philippines remained behind its neighbors, saying it is not among the top 5 countries that attracts foreign investors.
“I cannot overemphasize the fact that despite the passage of structural reforms to liberalize the economy in the last administration on the Amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Amendments to the Foreign Investment Act and Public Service Act, the reality is that constitutional limitations countervenes the objectives of these laws,” he said.
“We should consider that the Constitution is the fundamental law of the land and all laws must conform to it and not the other way around. Meaning, not unless and until the constitutional restrictions are removed, the apprehensions and hesitancy on the part of the investors will consequently remain,” he said.
Rodriguez said constitutionalists and legal experts Chief Justice Renato Puno, Justice Vicente Mendoza and Justice Adolf Azcuna favor amending the Constitution.
For the business sector, he said large business organizations like the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry represented by its president, George Barcelon, the Management Association of the Philippines represented by Atty. Perry Pe, and the Foundation for Economic Freedom represented by Calixto Chikiamco are all in favor of lifting the restrictive provisions of the Constitution.
For his part, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said although the convening of a Con-con is the best and more popular mode of charter change, Con-Con is an inordinately expensive enterprise with a reported budget amounting to P18 billion.
“Cha-cha is both out of tune and out of step now because the government has to first fully address priority concerns on poverty alleviation, lack of food security, disastrous effects of an 8.7-percent inflation rate, and the adverse consequences of a possible recession,” he said.
“Holding the election of Con-Con delegates simultaneous with the Barangay and SK elections on October 30, 2023 will gravely taint the grassroots elections with partisan politics, while the law requires that the Barangay and SK elections should be non-partisan so much so that the village and youth elections are not held simultaneous with local and national elections to insulate them from partisan politics,” Lagman added.