FILE PHOTO: Senator Robinhood Padilla during a hybrid hearing on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. – Padilla on Sunday, February 12, 2023, defended his resolution proposing economic amendments to the 1987 Constitution. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Robinhood Padilla on Sunday defended his resolution proposing economic amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
This developed after several of his colleagues at the Senate expressed opposition to or were cool about his bid.
Padilla said in a statement that Resolution of Both Houses No. 3, which he filed on February 8, is “strictly about our economy and investments” which would “bring jobs and livelihood” to Filipinos.
He urged some senators to “consider the resolution” as it contains no political provisions, like the extension of terms or the changing of the form of government.
READ: Robin Padilla wants con-ass to amend economic provisions of 1987 Constitution
“While laws have been passed in the past Congress such as amendments to the Public Service Act and the Trade Liberalization Act, it cannot be denied that foreign investors still think twice about investing in the Philippines due to the Constitution’s current provisions,” the neophyte senator said.
“Also, we cannot discount the questions raised by some sectors about the constitutionality of the Public Service Act,” he added.
According to him, amending the 1987 Constitution through a constituent assembly, or con-ass, “is the most practical and economical.” A con-ass would make the Senate and the House of Representatives vote separately on proposed amendments.
READ: Koko Pimentel, Grace Poe, Nancy Binay: Cha-cha is not needed at this time
But senators who expressed their opposition to the changing of the country’s principal charter did not mention political revisions as their basis for rejecting the resolution.
What Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III and Senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay had said was that amending the1987 Constitution should not be a priority at this time since Filipinos are faced with daily struggles amid rising unemployment and inflation.
They also asserted that the proposed amendments to the charter have already been addressed with the passage of certain laws during the 18th Congress.
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