A resolution was filed Tuesday reviving proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution, including its economic provisions described as “restrictive.”
Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) of Congress No. 1, filed by Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, wants to amends provisions in Articles I (National Territory), XII (National Economy and Patrimony), XIV (Education, Science, Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports), and XVI (General Provisions).
“There will be slight changes because what we filed and what was passed during the 18th Congress, Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, only covers the amendment to restrictive economic provisions,” Garbin said.
“But this time around, the RBH 1 includes the amendment to Article I, which is the National Territory. So, we propose that the provisions of the Constitution, specifically Article I, should conform to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” he added.
In pushing for Charter change, Garbin said the amendments must include the award from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, which asserted the Philippines has exclusive rights over its waters, invalidating China’s nine-dash line territorial claim for lack of legal and historical basis.
“The National Territory definition is silent on the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf that we won in the arbitral tribunal. We should enshrine it in our Constitution. Our President said we will not give not even an inch of our territory […] My contribution in upholding the arbitral case that we won and the UNCLOS,” Garbin added, referring to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s policy.
Efforts to amend the Constitution had been pushed in the past Congresses, but it did not prosper due to lack of Senate support to the measure.
