Economic Cha-cha measure could hurdle House panel this week –Garbin

If there are minimal debates over it, the measure seeking to propose amendments to the "restrictive" economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution may hurdle the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments this week.

House panel chair Alfredo Garbin made the remark on Monday as his committee gears up for Charter change (Cha-cha) deliberations in the chamber on Wednesday.

"Sa tingin ko naman, kung wala na masyadong tanong, at napagpasyahan na ng members ng committee, we can approve the bill [this week] so we can proceed coming up with a committee report para ito ay mai-adopt at mai-refer na sa plenaryo," Garbin told reporters in a virtual interview.

The proposed amendments to the "restrictive" economic provisions in the Constitution are covered in Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, filed no less than by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco as early as July 2019.

The measure inserts the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law" to the constitutional provisions on national patrimony and economy; education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports; and on general provisions to allow Congress to enact laws that would free up the economy to foreign investors.

This, Garbin said, "will improve the investment climate and generate much-needed investments and jobs to counteract the economic contraction caused by the pandemic.”

Garbin noted, however, that the Cha-cha hearing on Wednesday is not the first one.

"This is a continuation of the hearings by former chair and now Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez. Nakailan na silang hearing dito," he said.

"In fact before the pandemic, I think that was March, DS Rufus Rodriguez was ready to come up with a committee report, he wanted to report it out and he was told by the then Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to put on hold the report because of the pandemic," he added.

The issue on amending the economic provisions in the Constitution has also been deliberated on in the past Congresses, Garbin also said.

"We came up with the matrix of all sentiments and position papers of the different stakeholders in our economic sector and those players in national patrimony. Makita mo nandiyan na yung kanilang position paper from 16th, 17th, and 18th Congress," he said.

"Ilang beses na itong naging diskusyon. Sa tingin ko naman hindi na kailangan pahabain," he added.

The lawmaker assured, nevertheless, that the hearings would be transparent and that no other agenda will be tackled aside from the "restrictive" economic provisions.

Velasco earlier said that opening up the country to foreign investors is crucial to help the Philippine economy recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As global economies slowly start to reopen, we cannot allow the Philippines to lag behind in terms of investments and opportunities. We need to seize the momentum if we are to fully recover from the economic devastation of COVID-19," he said.

"RBH 2 seeks to liberalize the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution that prevent us from becoming fully competitive with our Asian neighbors," he added.

Velasco earlier said they are aiming to finish the Cha-cha deliberations before the end of 2021 and present it to the public for ratification alongside the 2022 elections. — DVM, GMA News