DILG exec: 1,489 mayors support ‘surgical’ amendments to 1987 Constitution

More than a thousand mayors in the country have already expressed support for "surgical" amendments to the 1987 Constitution, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said Wednesday.

"The 1,489 members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines prepared a resolution in support of the surgical amendments including the lifting of restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution," DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said during a House hearing on Charter change.

He added that the DILG was also able to gather 555,610 signatures of citizens during its roadshows in 72 out of 81 provinces nationwide.

"In each of these roadshows, we asked who supports surgical amendments to the Constitution and if they wish to, they can sign a form... We were able to secure more than half a million signatures from Filipinos nationwide," Malaya said.

In a separate press statement, Malaya said the signatures were culled from offline and online signature campaigns spearheaded by the DILG, CORE (Constitutional Reform) Movement, with the assistance of various civil society groups, private groups, and individuals.

"Those physical signatures were gathered during our provincial roadshows which started in 2019 up to 2020 before the pandemic hit and now online signature campaign where we brought people in an online platform,” Malaya said.

The previous roadshows included town hall meetings, youth assemblies, CORE conventions, and media fora, which were meant to inform the public on the merits of constitutional amendments.

The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments reopened the Charter change deliberations Wednesday to amend some restrictive provisions and open up the country to foreign investments.

"Nakakatuwa at makita natin talaga na mayroong suporta itong pag-amyenda ng Konstitusyon specifically on the surgical amendments which will pave the way in lifting the restrictive economic provisions," Garbin said in response to Malaya's presentation.

"'Yung ating mga kababayang Pilipino, sila yung may-ari ng Constitution. At the end of the day, any proposal in amending the Constitution will be subject to their ratification at dapat talaga maintindihan nila anuman ang panukala na isinusulong natin dito sa Kongrso," he added.

Under Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2, which covers the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution, the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law" will be included in the provision that reserves certain areas of investments to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations at least 60% of whose capital are owned by Filipinos.

The same phrase is also added in the provisions which limit ownership of educational institutions and mass media to Filipinos.

The measure also introduces the same phrase to the provision allowing the State to undertake exploration, development, and utilization activities on the country's natural resources. —With a report from Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ/KG, GMA News