Our media in the Philippines are now outdated compared to the media highly industrialized countries have because of technology
With the filing of Senate Resolution 6 by Senate President Migz Zubiri for both chambers of Congress — the Senate and the House of Representatives — a Constitutional crisis has been averted.
Earlier, the House Leader, Speaker Martin Romualdez. had pushed for the third mode of charter change through the people’s initiative, where amendment of the 1987 Constitution could be amended by the vote of at least 12 percentum of the total number of registered voters of which every legislative district must have at least three percentum of the registered voters nationwide.
This initiative has brought about a crisis with the accusation that registered voters were being bribed to sign the people’s initiative.
In fact, if government money was being used to bribe people, the people’s initiative would be declared illegal.
Thus, Santa Banana, President Marcos Jr. had gathered both leaders of both chambers to prevent a Constitutional crisis, in which case, the Senate president and Speaker of the House agreed to have Zubiri file SR 6 by Senate leaders for both chambers of Congress to have Charter change via Constituent assembly.
This means there would be a joint session with both chambers voting separately on the proposed amendments on the Constitution’s economic provisions.
Aside from Zubiri, Senator Loren Legarda and Senator Sonny Angara signed the resolution to amend the economic provisions of the Charter, through the sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Angara, with the cooperation of Senator Robin Padilla, chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes.
With both chambers of Congress now aligned to the Constituent Assembly for Charter change, not only was a crisis prevented by the formation of a Constituent Assembly, but, Santa Banana, it will surely be enacted within the year, something that all chambers of commerce of foreign countries had been urging the government to do!
One may argue, is there really a need for charter change on the economic provisions of the Charter when direct foreign investments had been coming in because of the initiative of the President in foreign trips abroad to invite foreign investors?
The President has been telling them “the Philippines has become a foreign investment hub.”
But, then, there’s no substitute for having in black and white that the Philippines has opened up to foreign investments because the Philippines has become an investment destination.
To me, there’s no substitute to this attraction for foreign investments but the Charter itself since the 1987 Constitution has become jurassic and prohibitive.
Yes, Santa Banana, with the country being very oppressive and restrictive to foreign investments for the past 36 years, I believe it’s time our economy became global.
For one thing, nationalism is now a dead issue with the world going global in everything.
I’d even say the restriction of the Charter on the ownership of media, print, radio and television, requiring 100 percent ownership by Filipinos, makes our media far behind in technology, when with a click you can access all the news in the world.
I’d even say that we fall behind most parts of the region because of the Charter.
I know I’m opening up a very sensitive issue since many of my colleagues in the media are still nationalistic.
But frankly, our media in the Philippines are now outdated compared to the media highly industrialized countries have because of technology.
The so-called “depository receipt” used by the Securities and Exchange Commission to justify foreign investments in media is a farce, like in the case of Rappler, which is actually controlled by American interests.
It’s time we open ownership of media; thus Charter change is urgent and imperative.
(Editor’s Note: Starting next week, Emil P. Jurado’s column will be appearing once a week: Tuesdays only)