SENATE minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday questioned what he called a “rider provision” that will allow foreigners to own land in the country which was included in the proposed measures to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution.
“Although they call it economic provisions, there is one rider that is not necessarily connected to the economic provisions. They want to open up land ownership to foreigners. Why is it there?” Pimentel said in an interview with ANC.
He said the rider provision will only add to the controversy and heighten public resistance against tinkering with the Charter.
“I think this will result in more opposition to the call for the Cha-cha right now. Bakit nasisingit ‘yang land ownership na iyan (Why include land ownership [in the proposed amendments]?” he added.
Sen. Robin Padilla, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, and his counterparts at the House of Representatives have been pushing for amendments in what they say are the “restrictive” economic provisions of the Constitution to buoy foreign investments.
The House wants Charter change done via a constitutional convention (con-con) mode, while Padilla is pushing for the convening of a constitutional assembly (con-ass). Senators, however, have been cold to Padilla’s Cha-cha initiative.
Padilla, like Cha-cha advocates in the House, has proposed that foreigners be allowed to own lands up to 1,000 square meters and foreign corporations up to five hectares for the purpose of foreign direct investments (FDIs).
In a separate statement, Pimentel said Section 7, Article XII of the Constitution states that “(s)ave in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.”
He said the rider provision on foreign land ownership should not be included in the economic Cha-cha bid.
“Land ownership is sacred and a very personal issue to many Filipinos,” he stressed.
While his faction in the PDP Laban is advocating for a shift to the federal system of government, Pimentel said they acknowledge that it should not be held just as yet.
“We have domestic problems. The world has gotten so complicated not only in trading, but also in the politics of the world, especially these geo-political issues. Cha-cha will really eat up our time. This will refocus our attention from more pressing issues,” he said.
He said amending the Constitution is not the sole solution in the country’s rising poverty and decline in foreign investments.
“The poverty that we see all around us was not caused by the Constitution. This has been caused by unfair policies,” Pimentel said, adding the other factors include the high cost of electricity and poor justice system which keep away foreign investors.
He cited a statement of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry that electricity rates for residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in the country are significantly higher from between 25 percent to as high as 87 percent compared to the Philippines’ neighbors in the Southeast Asia.
At the House, Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela) welcomed the decision of several business groups led by the Makati Business Club to backtrack on its support for Charter change, saying such a development “further exposes the push for Cha-cha as politically motivated.”
“As the MBC-led business bloc abandons the Cha-cha train, the push for con-con is further exposed as politically motivated and bereft of backing even by pro-economic liberalization groups,” she said.
The lawmaker said the business chambers might have realized that the push for trade and investment liberalization “is only being used to justify the wholesale rewriting of the 1987 Constitution, which is totally in the hands of the con-con delegates.”
“The risks are too high under the proposed con-con, aside from the steep spending bill estimated at over P28 billion. Imagine letting the con-con delegates tinker with any part of the Charter — even provisions on term limits, dynasties, and bill of rights,” Brosas said.
The lawmaker also urged the Senate to defer any discussion of Cha-cha while on break and “instead conduct hearings on pressing demands of Filipino women and the people, including the proposal for a wage increase.” — With Wendell Vigilia
