The people need jobs to be able to make both ends meet, considering that this year prices of almost everything have surged skyhigh and that wages must be increased
The issue of Charter change has come up once again with no less than Speaker Martin Romualdez proposing for the amendment of the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution through people’s initiative, one of the three modes of amending the charter.
The other modes are through a Constitutional convention and through a constituent assembly.
The 1987 Constitution provides in Article XVII, Section 2 that “amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least 12 per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district will be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein.
“No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.”
That’s quite clear and certainly much cheaper than the other two modes.
The Speaker proposed the economic provisions need to be amended to open the floodgates for foreign investments.
There is no doubt about the need to open the country to foreign investments, having been a laggard on the entry of foreign investments in this region.
Santa Banana, can you imagine Vietnam, a war-torn country, is now far ahead of the Philippines on economic investments, all because of the prohibitive and repressive provisions of the Charter providing only 40 percent of foreigners to invest.
All the foreign chambers of commerce in the country have been crying out for Charter change.
In this connection, it would do well for both chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives, to get a poll survey of the people’s sentiments on Charter change, since in the final analysis it will be the people who will ratify any amendments on the Constitution in a plebiscite for that purpose.
There are three reputable and duly tested poll surveyors we can rely on: Pulse Asia, Social Weather Stations and the University of the Philippines OCTA.
This poll survey could even include other Charter changes that Congress might envision.
On the amendments of the economic provisions of the Charter, there had been questions whether we really need it or not, since in all the foreign trips of President Marcos Jr, he was able to secure no less than more than P4 trillion pledges including Memorandum of Understanding and Letters of Intent of which no less than P1.16 trillion have “actualized” or have already come into the Philippines, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs to Filipinos.
Thus, my gulay, the question comes : Do we need to amend the economic provisions of the Charter?
My answer to it is: Yes, we need Charter changes in the economic provisions.
There had been foreign investments coming in through the initiative of the President.
But, I still believe there’s no substitute for having the amendments in black and white in the Charter.
There’s no substitute to having the country fully opened to foreign investment considering since the Philippines is now at the bottom of the heap in foreign investments.
The fact that foreign chambers of commerce have been crying out for amendments is the best proof we need amendments on the economic provisions.
Along with the need for amendments, it would do well for Congress to spell out where foreign investors would invest.
Again, there’s no substitute for foreign investments where they can invest without any restrictions and prohibitions.
Yes, there are now areas in public services where foreign investments are welcomed.
But, I still believe it’s time for Congress to open the economy to foreign investments to get the country out from the bottom.
The people need jobs to be able to make both ends meet, considering that this year prices of almost everything have surged skyhigh and that wages must be increased.