Solon bats for economic Cha-cha to spur economic growth

MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to boost the country’s economic opportunities worldwide, House Assistant Majority Leader and Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing on Monday suggested amendments to the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution by inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.”

“First of these drivers is the need to make our economy more agile to better capitalize on economic opportunities and adapt to the dynamic global landscape, in order to ensure higher employment generation and job opportunities for Filipinos,” Suansing, who is also an economist, said.

By inserting “unless otherwise provided by law” into the economic provisions of the 37-year-old Charter, Suansing explained that the government will be able to “expand the scope of policy-making tools of [the] national economic managers” and “ensure that economic policy framework continually keeps up with the evolving global economic landscape.” 

As defined by economic expert Mahar Mangahas in an opinion piece back in 2014, putting this phrase in constitutional sections would mean that Congress will be in charge of “the actual lifting of the restrictions—the forging of vital details such as which restrictions to lift, in what way, when and in what sequence, through how many legislative bills, etc.”

Aside from generating more jobs, the lawmaker said the move would grant policymakers flexibility “to attract capital into sectors currently lacking sufficient funding.”

“This is especially timely as the discussions by the President and the Philippine delegation during trade missions are aimed at bringing investments into the Philippines in salient industries such as energy, manufacturing, and other capital-intensive sectors,” she pointed out.

Furthermore, she said that the amendment is imperative to expedite knowledge transfer and capacity building for a globally competitive workforce, suggesting that inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article 14 could facilitate the beneficial entry of internationally trained academics into the country. 

“This would enhance capacity building among students, which would hopefully translate to better employability in high-paying jobs. Moreover, it will facilitate knowledge transfer to key industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services,” Suansing said.

She added that the Philippines’ foreign direct investment (FDI) rules are among the most restrictive worldwide — making the country less competitive in this sector within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region — based on the FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index. 

Aside from Suansing, other lawmakers urged the Senate to back President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s stand to amend the 1987 Constitution’s restrictive economic provisions last week.