Sen. Ronald ”Bato” Dela Rosa (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines— A quick survey done during a Senate hearing on Monday showed that more government agencies are in favor of amending economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
Eight of 10 representatives of government agencies raised their hands when Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa posed this question: Who among you, based on your agencies’ position, are in favor of amending the restrictive provisions of our economic provisions of our Constitution?
“I’m late. I didn’t hear the position of the agencies [being represented] here. I just would like to get the recapitulation of their positions,” Dela Rosa said, partly in Filipino, before he posed the question.
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Among the agencies invited to the hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments were the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Competition Commission, National Security Council, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and the Department of Information and Communication Technology.
The subcommittee headed by Sen. Sonny Angara is deliberating on a resolution seeking changes to specific economic provisions of the Constitution.
The resolution was lodged by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, and Angara.
Some of their colleagues, however, expressed apprehension about one of their proposals in the resolution that would open up all public utilities to full foreign ownership.
“Would amending the public utilities provisions in our Constitution open the economy or open a can of worms?” Sen. Grace Poe, who heads the Senate Committee on Public Services, asked during the hearing.