What Went Before: The matter of Charter change

A resolution seeking to amend the protectionist provisions and foreign participation limits in the Constitution has reached the plenary in the House of Representatives before Congress adjourned sine die in June.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. was the principal author of the resolution that seeks to add the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” to the Constitution’s articles concerning the national economy and patrimony; education, science, technology, arts, culture and sports; and general provisions.

This would not automatically remove the foreign ownership and participation limits as stipulated in the Charter. Congress would still have to pass laws to lift the restrictions and it may do this for the constitutional provisions that prevent foreigners from operating public utilities and educational institutions, and from undertaking activities to develop or utilize the country’s natural resources, for example.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said the Senate would tackle Charter change (Cha-cha) only after the House passed its measure.

On Feb. 18, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 1, “Proposing amendments to certain restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution … specifically to Articles 12, 14 and 16 thereof.”

But President Aquino has repeatedly declared his opposition to any attempt to amend the Constitution that was drafted and ratified during the term of his late mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

“(M)y stand has been (made) public for the longest time,” Aquino said in an interview with reporters following his speech at the anniversary of the Philippine Navy in Fort San Felipe, Cavite province, in May 2013.

“I don’t think they (economic restrictions) are a necessary detriment to getting foreign investors in this country,” the President replied when asked about the pitch of Belmonte, his close ally and a Liberal Party stalwart, to amend the Constitution to attract foreign capital.

The President even cited a survey among foreign chambers of commerce in the country to demonstrate that the Constitution was not the root of the ills plaguing the Philippines.

“Our earlier studies on that [showed that] various chambers of commerce in the country have indicated a lot of issues and the so-called economic provisions [were] very low on the priority [scale],” the President said.

What the business community was worrying about were things other than Cha-cha, Aquino said.

“They cited, at the time, the [inefficient] bureaucracy, the peace and order situation, amongst others, lack of infrastructure,” he said.

In 2012, two weeks before the President was to face Congress to deliver his annual State of the Nation Address, Belmonte teamed up with then Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile in rallying support for Cha-cha.

Malacañang quickly responded by declaring that Cha-cha was not a priority of the Aquino administration. Unperturbed, the duo even sought an audience with the President in Malacañang.

In July 2012, Belmonte and Enrile attended a closed-door meeting with Aquino and they were politely rebuffed by the President.

“I stated my opposition, but we agreed to have the underlying basis studied by the economic and legal clusters [of the Cabinet and] with private sector participation, upon the suggestion of both the Senate President and the Speaker,” the President said.–Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives