THE Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes has wrapped up its public consultations on proposed economic revisions to the 1987 Charter, chairperson Sen. Robin Padilla said yesterday.
Padilla said he will hold a hearing on Monday with his counterparts from the House of Representatives to discuss the mode of amending the Constitution.
The House on Tuesday approved the implementing bill to Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 calling for the convening of a constitutional convention that would introduce proposed Charter revisions.
Lawmakers voted 301-7 in favor of House Bill (HB) No. 7352, which provides for a seven-month term of office for the con-con from December 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
Padilla said he is duty-bound to pursue discussions on Cha-cha despite criticisms from some sectors and the indifference of most of his colleagues in the Senate.
“As your elected officials, we are obligated to do this despite criticisms from some sectors.
We are doing this for you,” Padilla said during the public hearing held in Cebu City on Thursday. Sen. Ronald dela Rosa joined Padilla in the consultation.
The Padilla committee held its first two public consultations in Davao and Baguio cities.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has earlier said the Cha-cha initiative is not a Senate priority and is not included among the priority measures agreed among lawmakers from the two houses of Congress and Malacañang.
The Senate chief has likewise questioned the relentless push of congressmen to hasten discussions on the proposed economic provisions to the Constitution.
During Thursday’s hearing, Padilla reiterated his preference for the convening of a constitutional assembly, which he said would be cheaper for the government instead of adopting the con-con approach.
He cited a study conducted by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) showing that if the con-con method is used, P28.5 billion will be spent if amendments are approved through a stand-alone plebiscite, and more than P14.7 billion if done simultaneously with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections scheduled (BSKE) in October this year.
For the con-ass mode, the NEDA study showed only P13.9 billion will be spent for a separate plebiscite, and P46 million if held together with the BSKE.
Padilla said the P28.5 billion for con-con can instead be spent for the construction of 11,400 classrooms which to address the 167,000 classroom backlog, for the social pension of more than 2.2 million senior citizens, to fund the Health Facilities Enhancement Program for the construction of barangay health stations, health units, and public hospital; and for the salaries and benefits of the country’s health care workers, among others.
FOREIGN INVESTMENTS
Padilla repeated that the Constitution’s inclusive economic provisions must be amended to allow the entry of more Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the country.
Virgilio Espeleta, former president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said the entry of FDIs will be easier if the country can improve its business climate.
Espeleta said the CCCI conducted a survey in 2019 asking 300 local businessmen what they see were hindrances to do business in Cebu.
He said the top concerns of Cebu traders were government bureaucracy, corruption, lack of infrastructure for easy access to raw materials, lack of local “talents,” the high cost of electricity, insufficient water supply, and the province’s poor garbage collection and disposal system, among others.
“We’re only looking at the local, not the foreign direct investments. But I think if the local investors will be investing themselves, it will give a good signal also to the foreign direct investors that it’s good to do business here,” Espeleta said.
He said these concerns should be addressed to attract more foreign direct investments.
“I think investment climate is very, very important to our foreign direct investments,” he added.
The August Twenty One Movement (ATOM), on the other hand, said that “while our present Constitution may not be perfect, it is not the right time to prioritize this (Cha-cha), considering that our country is still battling the after effects of the COVID crisis.”
“We, the members of the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM), remain steadfast to preserve the ideals of Ninoy and committed to stand by with Democracy at all cost. As Ninoy said in an undelivered speech during his return to the country in 1983: ‘How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by democratic faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always, and in the final act, by determination and faith’,” the group said in a statement.
‘GHOSTS’
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, cried foul over Zubiri’s statement that the delay in the enforcement of three laws may be related to the larger chamber’s push for rewriting the Constitution’s economic provisions.
Rodriguez said Zubiri’s allegation “is unfair to House members, especially our Speaker Martin Romualdez, officials of the executive branch, which is led by no less than President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to whom his underlings are ultimately answerable to him, and even to senators in favor of amending the Charter’s economic provisions.”
“That’s foul, that’s pure speculation that has no basis at all. The House has no control over the executive agencies tasked to implement the three laws by issuing implementing rules and regulations (IRRs),” he said.
“My beloved Senate President from Mindanao may be seeing ghosts where there are none.
He should overcome his fear of the unknown. He should give us, his former colleagues in the House of Representatives, and executive officials some good faith,” he added.
Zubiri told a television interview last Wednesday that NEDA and other concerned agencies have yet to release IRRs to implement amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Law and Foreign Investment Act more than a year after these were passed by the 18th Congress.
The Senate President said these laws were already sufficient to attain the goal of Cha-cha proponents of attracting more foreign investments into the country by amending the Charter’s economic provisions.
“Are they delaying (the approval of IRR) for some underlying reason? Why don’t they let the IRR go and let it out so that more direct foreign investments can come to the country?” he asked.
Zubiri said he is against granting foreigner full foreign ownership of land because it would only increase real estate prices in the country to the disadvantage of poor Filipinos.
Rodriguez however said it is the President who has administrative control over the agencies mandated to issue IRRs and implement the three laws Zubiri referred to.
Rodriguez reiterated that the House Charter amendment initiative is aimed at rewriting the basic law’s “restrictive” economic provisions so the country could entice more foreign investors.
“The restrictions that hamper investments are still there, because laws cannot amend the Constitution,” he said.
He said Zubiri and anti-Charter reform senators should give House members the benefit of the doubt on the latter’s economic reform objective.
“The best proof that we want the envisioned constitutional convention to limit itself to the economic provisions is the seven-month deadline for this assembly to finish its job,” he said. — With Wendell Vigilia
