Passing laws, not changing Charter, may be enough to attract investors, says Drilon
Senator Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Instead of amending the Constitution, Congress may simply pass economic laws that can provide “better investment climate” that Charter change seeks to achieve, Senator Franklin Drilon said on Thursday.
Drilon acknowledged that any efforts to amend the charter might not have a chance in Congress without the support of the Aquino administration.
“The reality is the political leadership, President (Benigno Aquino III ) is not convinced that we need Cha-Cha (Charter change),” he said during a weekly forum at the Senate.
“That is why I enumerated those economic laws, which short of Cha-Cha, can provide the environment of better investment climate that Cha-Cha seeks to achieve,” he said.
Drilon said the economic laws he was referring to were the bills that the new majority bloc would prioritize in the 16th Congress.
Among them were the rationalization of the Fiscal Incentive Act, amendments to the Mining Law, and Tax Incentive, Monitoring and Transparency Act, amendments to the Build Operate and Transfer Law; amendments to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Act to strengthen the banking sector, among others.
Newly-elected Senator Cynthia Villar backed Drilon’s proposal to push for economic laws, instead of amending the Constitution, saying such move was less controversial.
“Why do we have to go through the process of amending the Constitution if we can do it by just passing a law? Basta hindi lang magiging unconstitutional (So long as it will not be unconstitutional),” Villar said in a separate interview.
“If it can be done that way, less controversy, isn’t it?” she added.
