Economic Cha-cha gets final House OK

MANILA, Philippines — As scheduled, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading last night Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 that will relax stringent economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution, in hopes of attracting more foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country.

Voting 288-8 with two abstentions, administration lawmakers stamped their approval on the proposed economic Charter change (Cha-cha), which will introduce key amendments to lift restrictive provisions in public utilities and the education and advertising sectors.

Speaker Martin Romualdez said the final approval of RBH7 came after two weeks of exhaustive plenary deliberations that started last Feb. 26, preceded by two weeks of equally extensive and marathon hearings of the committee of the whole.

Romualdez said the proposed economic amendments are the “last piece in the puzzle of investment measures” that the administration of President Marcos has been taking “to sustain our economic growth, create more job and income opportunities and, in general, make life better for Filipinos.”

“These changes, if ratified by our people in a plebiscite, will greatly boost these measures, including our President’s investment missions abroad, which have generated actual investments and pledges in billions of dollars and created thousands of jobs,” the Speaker said.

The approval by Congress and by the people of the proposed amendments “will send a powerful message to foreign investors and the international community that the Philippines is now fully open for business and for investments,” he added.

As pointed out by numerous resource persons during the committee of the whole deliberations, the proposed amendments “are necessary, but not enough” to attract FDI, according to the Speaker.

“We heard the wise counsel and suggestions of resource persons and experts. We assure the business community and our people that we are working on the other factors affecting investments, like ease of doing business, the high cost of power, infrastructure and similar issues,” he said.

Unknown to many, the chief justice that the late former president Cory Aquino appointed, along with the prime minister of the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., have endorsed economic Cha-cha as early as 25 years ago as a way of boosting the country’s economy.

Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who chairs the House committee on constitutional amendments, disclosed this last week during plenary debates on RBH7, where he, along with several other proponents, delivered his sponsorship speech. 

Rodriguez recalled that the short-lived administration of former president Joseph Estrada, for which he served as immigration commissioner, created what was known as the Preparatory Commission on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR), which released a report in December 1999.

“The credentials of the PCCR commissioners are impeccable. It was chaired by former chief justice Andres Narvasa and included former prime minister Cesar Virata, former chief justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, former National Economic and Development Authority directors-general, legal luminaries, renowned economists,” Rodriguez said.

Narvasa, while an appointee of Aquino, was also a very good friend and legal consultant to Estrada.

Rodriguez, a former law dean, quoted the PCCR report that based on “objective data,” policies on “equity participation, management ownership in economic enterprises and factors of production are dynamic and therefore, must not be carved in stone.”

The Narvasa-led commission also reported that “a survey of East Asian economies and their approaches to foreign investment policies disclosed that, invariably, the mode of regulation by all the countries is by legislative action rather than by constitutional mandate.”

Save for Thailand, whose constitution contains a restriction against foreign ownership of mass media companies, all other East Asian countries have “no provisions in their constitutions prescribing specific citizenship or foreign investment equity ratios similar” to the Philippines.

In essence, Rodriguez said the PCCR recommended that “economic policies should not be embedded in the Constitution,” but their formulation should be left “to the economic managers and Congress, depending on the needs of the times.”

The PCCR commissioners declared that such “questions are better addressed by the electorally accountable bodies of the government, which must decide these questions after weighing the costs and benefits attendant to such decision.”  

No pressure

The Senate will not be pressured by the House of Representatives following its approval of RBH7.

Sen. Sonny Angara earlier said that he, as chairman of the Senate constitutional amendments subcommittee hearing the measure, was not instructed to railroad the passage of the Senate’s Resolution of Both Houses No. 6.

“I have no commitment to rush this. When I was given an instruction by the Senate President, he said, make your own schedule as you see fit,” Angara said in an interview over radio station dwIZ on March 9.

“As long as the committee hearings and consultations that we will conduct will yield good results,” he added.

The STAR reached out to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri for his reaction on the House’s speedy approval, but he has yet to respond as of last night.

The Senate targets to wrap up committee hearings soon to hold plenary debates on Cha-cha during the resumption of session from April 29 to May 24, according to Angara.

Congress adjourns sine die from May 25 to July 21.

Angara said that he targets to bring the measure to the plenary before the President’s State of the Nation Address in July.

The senator set the “filing deadline” for Cha-cha in the Senate in October, to give the Commission on Elections (Comelec) time to prepare for a plebiscite to coincide with the 2025 midterm elections.

Economic Cha-cha

If the Senate would vote now on efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa would vote for it.

In an interview with reporters yesterday, Dela Rosa said he is supportive of the move to amend the Constitution, particularly the economic provisions.

“It’s OK, but for economic Cha-cha,” he answered when asked by The STAR whether he would vote for or against Charter change.

He added that he would keep an open mind on the matter as the Senate is still discussing it. “The economy really needs to be opened up,” the senator said.

The Senate is in the process of discussing RBH6, which did not make it before Congress went on Lenten break starting yesterday.

The proposed measure authored by Senate President Zubiri, Senate Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda and Angara was not calendared during the last session week of the Senate.

The Senate would rather prioritize bills listed in the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) than rush the passage of the proposed measure pushing for the amendment of the 1987 Constitution.

 “Yes, (the Senate will tackle RBH6 after the Lenten break) because this week is for LEDAC bills like (government) procurement reform laws and others,” Angara told The STAR in a message via Viber.

Zubiri committed to President Marcos to pass all legislative measures being pushed by the administration by June this year.

“Good news: many of the President’s requests here, in LEDAC, we’ve already approved, both houses of Congress and are already in the final stages. Either only the President’s signature is needed or it’s just up to the bicameral conference committee meetings, which is going to be a law very soon,” Zubiri said.

He added that 15 of the measures would be completed before the Senate’s sine die adjournment and the remaining eight would be passed by June.

During the 6th LEDAC technical working group meeting last Jan. 16, 21 bills were identified as priority measures for passage by June this year but were eventually narrowed down to 15, considering the limited remaining session days.

The LEDAC, however, moved to add five more priority measures that will support social and economic initiatives to be passed by June. These include the proposed Open Access in Digital Transmission Act, Enterprise-based Education Program (Apprenticeship Act), CREATE More, An Act Creating the Department of Water Management and Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act.

Junk RBH7

In a related development, cause-oriented groups yesterday urged the Senate and the Comelec to junk RBH7.

The groups under the No to Cha-cha Network said the Cha-cha initiative being pushed by legislators in the House of Representatives will likely ignore the Senate in getting the required three-fourths vote of all members of Congress and proceed to submit the measure to the Comelec.

The move undermines the bicameral nature of Congress and its attendant system of checks and balances, according to the groups.

“The Senate and Comelec should not allow such an abomination. RBH7 will open a Pandora’s box of self-serving amendments unilaterally proposed by the Lower House,” they said in a statement.

Among these amendments are extension of terms of office of elected officials, lifting of term limits and shift to a unicameral parliamentary system that abolishes the Senate.

Around 1,000 demonstrators from various groups held a rally in front of the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City, which coincided with the scheduled approval of the measure on third and final reading.

Meanwhile, the Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines (CMSP) said the Filipino people should exercise vigilance on the planned economic reforms in the 1987 Constitution and make sure that there would be no self-serving political changes.

In a statement titled “Whoever Does What is True Comes to Light” issued last Tuesday, the CMSP expressed concern over the continued push to amend the Constitution, which was initially clandestinely done, gathering signatures through the people’s initiative.

“The campaign to collect signatures for Charter change (Cha-cha) was done swiftly, initiated by the so-called concerned citizens and duly supported by some members of the Lower House and local government units. These schemes, however, were exposed in the light,” the CMSP said.

“We, in the Conference, are deeply concerned with this covert and deceptive move to change the fundamental law of the land. When done in darkness, it is likely that there are other interests and agendas behind this action,” it added.

The CMSP statement was signed by co-chairs Fr. Elias Ayuban Jr., CMF and Sr. Cecilia Espenilla, OP. –  Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Emmanuel Tupas, Evelyn Macairan