Pinoys will no longer migrate if economic restrictions in Charter lifted — Ad-com

Filipinos would no longer have to migrate if economic restrictions in the Constitution are lifted and supported by a sound political system, the Charter Change Advocacy Commission (ad-com) said yesterday.

Labor leader Alex Aguilar, a member of the commission, said Pulse Asia’s recent survey — which showed that three out of every 10 Filipinos prefer to go abroad if given the chance — is a mirror of the worsening political and economic situation in the country.

"What does this tell us? Our fellowmen are losing hope. Despite the sound economic policies we have, these are being waylaid by the present presidential-bicameral system and the Constitution which is repulsive to foreign investments," Aguilar said in a statement.

The survey said lack of jobs and poor pay force about 2,000 Filipinos to leave for jobs abroad each month.

"The problem is not just lack of jobs but jobs that match the college degree of an individual. We Filipinos are known to be skilled workers who are more than just English-speaking people. If we can bring in investments here, and I mean not just call centers, Filipinos who would want to migrate would think twice," Aguilar said.

Figures from the Labor Education and Research Network (Learn) show that if the number of unemployed (2.8 million), underemployed (6.9 million) and those not looking for jobs (1.1 million) were combined, there would be 10.8 million out of the 36 million-strong workforce that would need corresponding jobs.

"The gridlock in both houses of Congress and the executive makes it even worse. We need to change the Constitution now if we want real economic reforms," Aguilar said.

He said the Philippines should learn from the experience of Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, all of which run under a parliamentary system of government.

"We are now left behind by our neighbors. These countries have liberal economic policies and dynamic financial activities. It’s high time we do follow their steps," Aguilar said.

Meanwhile, businessman and ad-com member Ramon Orosa said the Philippines must reach out to the rest of the world and cannot rely solely on its own experiences as far as education is concerned.

"Knowledge is universal, you cannot imprison knowledge and you should not imprison minds," Orosa said. "We’re not a fountain of knowledge."

Orosa said that under the Constitution, foreign players are barred from participating in the ownership and operation of a college and other institutions of higher learning.

The ad-com said the country needs specialized institutions that will train Filipinos in science, engineering and other related technologies that industries needed badly.

The commission added that it would like to see new technologies booming in the country — Filipinos building ships, aircraft parts and other machinery.

With the help of foreign investments in the tertiary education, Orosa said the Philippines has the opportunity to be a center of knowledge that can attract students from within the Asia-Pacific region, similar to what happened to medical education in the country.

However, he said lifting restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution would require changes in political structure.