Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez (Bloomberg file photo)
Lopez, a resource person during the virtual hearing, said that removing the economic “barriers” in the 1987 Constitution would help the country lure more foreign investors.
“Eliminating these barriers will certainly unleash the high growth potential of the Philippines,” Lopez told the House panel, which is chaired by AKO-Bicol Party-List Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr.
“Our economy has been recognized as the second fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia until the year 2019, right before the pandemic struck, with average growth of 6 percent for 14 consecutive quarters. We also know that such growth rates could even be higher if we were able to remove basic restrictions, such as the foreign ownership of businesses in certain sectors stipulated in the Constitution,” the DTI chief explained.
By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
Published January 26, 2021 2:04pm Capiz Representative Fredenil Castro on Tuesday urged the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments to bring the deliberations on the economic Charter change straight to the plenary to save lawmakers some time in the discussions. During the continuation of the panel deliberations, Castro suggested that the committee already terminate its hearings and vote on Speaker Lord Allan Velasco s Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2, which proposes amendments to the restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution. He argued the panel is pressed for time and the questions that lawmakers would want to propound in the committee hearings can also be asked in the plenary.
Published January 27, 2021, 6:00 AM
Restrictions on foreign ownership of land should stay, the Duterte administration’s chief economic manger said, but non-Filipino citizens should also be allowed to lease real-estate assets for a long-term period.
During the hearing on the proposed Charter change before the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that any proposal to lift the ban on foreign ownership of land “evokes strong emotional reactions.”
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“I think you cannot ignore the colonial past of the Philippines, where it was thought that foreigners came and ended up owning the land, dispossessing the Filipinos,” Dominguez said “Land is a very emotional issue.”
Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin said the prospering of Charter change (Cha-cha) discussions in the House of Representatives won't automatically lead to the lifting of the targeted, "restrictive" economic provisions in the Constitution.
Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez took a hard stance Thursday on Senate President Vicente Sotto lll’s declaration that amending the 1987 Constitution is “next to impossible” under the current 18th Congress.