Gonzales pleads to Senate: Best time for economic Cha-cha now

Aurelio Gonzales Jr. —HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FACEBOOK PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — House of Representatives Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. has appealed to senators to support moves to amend the 1987 Constitution’s economic provisions, underscoring that there will be no better time for economic Charter change (Cha-cha) than now.

In his sponsorship speech of Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, Gonzales asked their colleagues in the Senate to refrain from failing Filipinos again by deterring amendments to the Constitution.

“Lastly, I appeal to my colleagues in the Senate: there will never be a better time than now to amend the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. Let us not fail the Filipino people once more,” Gonzales said on Monday when RBH No. 7 was brought to the plenary for deliberation.

“We, in the House of Representatives, have exhausted every step to help our nation. It is time to work collectively and in harmony,” he added.

Gonzales also urged House members to be guided by the wisdom of resource persons, who have clamored to ease economic restrictions.

“My dear colleagues, as we commence the period of sponsorship and debate, let us be guided by the legal bases of amending the Constitution and recognize the wisdom of our resource persons. They are one in saying that amending the restrictive economic provisions will pave the way for a better, more thriving Philippines,” he said.

“We need to accept that certain provisions of the 1987 Constitution, as noble and well-intentioned as they are, have already outlived its purpose. Our mission now is to give the Filipino people that life-long dream of progress for our country, which would, in turn, raise the quality of their lives,” he added.

Gonzales’ call came after lawmakers addressed Senator Sonny Angara’s statements in a radio interview with DWIZ over the weekend, where he said that Marcos might need to help him convince senators to vote in favor of the Senate’s RBH No. 6, which also calls for amendments to the Constitution’s economic provisions.

In the DWIZ interview, Angara said that he feels that asking senators to support RBH No. 6 will be a challenge since Senators Cynthia Villar and Koko Pimentel believe they have the numbers to stop the economic charter change.

To push forward with constitutional amendments, Congress should be able to get a two-thirds vote of all its members — which means that if the Senate insists on voting separately, RBH No. 6 needs at least 18 out of 24 senators to vote in the affirmative.

However, if claims are true that seven or eight senators might not vote in favor of RBH No. 6, proposed amendments would be considered dead.

READ: Marcos was already clear on Cha-cha, House lawmakers say

The House’ RBH No. 7, which was crafted by mimicking RBH No. 6, seeks to amend these three provisions in the Constitution by adding the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law”:

• Section 11 of Article XII (National Patrimony and Economy), where the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” is inserted in the provision that bars foreign ownership of a public utility shall except in a case where 60 percent of the total capital belongs to Filipino citizens
• Section 4 of Article XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports), where the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” is inserted in the provision that bars foreign ownership of basic educational institutions except in a case where 60 percent of the total capital belongs to Filipino citizens.
• Section 11 of Article XVI (General Provisions) where the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” is inserted in two portions: first, the provision that bars foreign ownership in the advertising industry except in a case where 70 percent of the total capital belongs to Filipino citizens; and in the provision that limits foreign investors participation in entities to how much their capital share is

If the proposed amendments are approved by the House and the Senate and ratified in a plebiscite, Congress would be allowed to pass laws that would prescribe the rate of foreign ownership for these industries.

READ: House committee of the whole approves RBH 7 

Many sectors, however, have raised concerns regarding the insertion of the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law,” — including officials from the Department of Education who feared that amendments might lead to foreign influence on basic education.

READ: PH curriculum must be exclusively implemented by Filipinos, says DepEd 

Previously, retired chief justice Reynato Puno urged the House to refrain from using the phrase, saying that the items in question should be repealed instead.

Puno explained that amendments made through legislation — or enacting bills that would specify how much foreign businesses can own in the industries that would be opened — may be questioned for their constitutionality.