Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, chairman of the
House Committee on Energy, filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, which aims to
revise certain economic provisions of the 29-year-old Constitution,
particularly Articles II (National Patrimony and Economy), XIV (Education,
Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports) and XVI (General
Provisions).
Under RBH No. 2, he proposed that the constitutional limits
on foreign ownership of land, natural resources, schools, media, and public
utilities be lifted to ensure the flow of foreign investments into the country.
“In order to fully transform this economic growth into
inclusive and solitary progress among Filipinos, the restrictive economic
provisions in the Philippine Constitution which hamper the flow of foreign
capital investments must be lifted,” Velasco said.
Citing the 2019 economic outlook report of the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the House leader noted that
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) percentage of the Philippines for the period
of 2017 to 2019 constantly surpasses the GDP growth in other Southeast Asian
countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
“Growing global interest in Asia provides an opportunity for
the Philippines to compete for more investments but statistics show that
Philippines need to maximize its economic momentum since in a 2017 Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) report, around 90 percent of the 36 million
people in Southeast Asia who are living below the international poverty line
are Filipinos and Indonesians,” he said.
Velasco said Congress should take advantage of pursing the
economic Charter change, citing that the people’s trust to country’s leaders
has enticed the local and foreign business community to invest in the
Philippines.
“The mandate given to current leaders who advocate for
change signifies renewed trust in the government and immense optimism in its
ability and commitment to bring about improvement in the quality of life of
Filipinos,” he said.
“The trust reposed by the people upon the country’s leaders
has encouraged more investments and it is helping the country maintain its pace
as one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with the World Bank giving it
a future projections of 6.5 percent GDP growth this year and 6.6 percent in
2020 and 2021,” he said.
Velasco’s measure seeks to insert the phrase “unless
otherwise provided by law” to several sections of the Constitution which
restrict foreign ownership of land, natural resources, public utilities, media,
and advertising.
It provides that by a vote of three-fourths of all its
members, the Senate and the House of Representatives voting separately, could
propose amendments to Articles XII and XIV and XVI of the 1987 Constitution.
Source: Manila Bulletin, by Charissa Luci-Atienza
Source: Manila Bulletin, by Charissa Luci-Atienza
