Belmonte: It’s now or never to make economic Charter change

Speaker Sonny Belmonte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—It’s now or never.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday set a deadline for the House of Representatives to pass a measure amending the economic provisions of the Constitution before the close of the second regular session of the current 16th Congress.

“If we cannot pass it now, I don’t see how we can pass it in the future. So we will try our best to pass it,” Belmonte told reporters.

The House leadership will try to approve pet Resolution of Both Houses 1 (RBH1) before June 11, when Congress adjourns sine die, Belmonte said.

He noted that a “big majority,” or a three-fourths vote, would be required for the 289-member chamber to approve RBH1 on third and final reading.

Unlike regular legislation, the requirement for approving any constitutional amendment is much higher—at least 216 votes in the current Congress. (In the past few days, fewer than 200 lawmakers have attended sessions.)

The same three-fourths requirement is needed in the Senate. Although the signature of the President is no longer necessary, a national referendum will be needed to ratify the constitutional amendment.

Under RBH1, a five-word phrase—“unless otherwise provided by law”—is proposed to be added to seven economic provisions of the Constitution to allow greater participation of foreign businesses in the country.

For instance, the Constitution provides that joint ventures for the exploration, development or use of the country’s natural resources may only be made with 60-percent Filipino-owned corporations. But with the addition of the phrase, “unless provided by law,” the provision can now be amended through legislation.

The same clause is proposed to be added to other economic provisions, including those on the lease of alienable lands, the operation of public utilities, and ownership and management of mass media.

Sneaky approval

A network of nongovernment organizations on Wednesday bewailed what it called the “sneaky approval” on second reading of RBH1 last week.

“Instead of having an open debate on the resolution, this was quickly passed by the plenary when the public’s attention was on the Bangsamoro Basic Law,” said the Coalition for a Citizens’ Constitution (C4CC).

The group, which favors only the convening of a constitutional convention to amend the Charter, said the proposed insertion of the clause to the economic provisions would effectively remove the “permanence, predictability and protection” provided by the Constitution.

“If the measure succeeds in passing, the limits provided by the Constitution on foreign ownership of lands, natural resources, public utilities, media, educational institutions, and other critical industries will be rendered inutile, as the same would be subject to the whims of Congress and the personal agendas carried by its individual members,” C4CC said.

“The sneaky manner by which RBH1 was approved on second reading last week is a clear preview of what will happen should Congress approve that resolution,” it said.

Entire political system

C4CC also noted that the root cause of the low inflow of foreign investment into the country is not the constitutional restrictions, “but rather the entire architecture of the political system in the country which promotes and nurtures patronage based, elitist, manipulative and corrupt politics and the ensuing neglect of critical infrastructure in the country.”

The group doubts that foreign investment would come into the country with the changes in the economic provisions of the Constitution.

“Our country is already one of the most open economies in the world. Compared to many of our trade and investment restrictive neighbors such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia, movement in liberalizing foreign investment in the Philippines has been marked, consistent and applauded by the international business press,” it said.

C4CC campaigned for the convening of a constitutional convention to institute political reforms in the early years of the Aquino presidency. It has also protested against attempts to amend the Charter through a constituent assembly.