Economic Cha-cha necessary, likely to be approved this year —Rodriguez

Stressing that it is necessary, Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Thursday said the House of Representatives' proposal to amend the "restrictive" economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution is likely to be approved this year.

Rodriguez made the remark after Senate President Vicente Sotto III reportedly said that Congress convening into a constituent assembly (Con-Ass) to propose constitutional amendments is "next to impossible" under the 18th Congress.

In a statement, Rodriguez said what Sotto could be referring to is the "wholesale" revision of the Constitution, which is not what the House proposes through Speaker Lord Allan Velasco's Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2.

"What Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and the House are proposing is limiting Cha-cha (Charter change) to the basic law’s economic provisions that restrict foreign investor participation in businesses in the country," he said.

He said RBH No. 2 only adds the phrases “unless otherwise provided by law” to the economic provisions so that Congress would be able to alter them when the economic situation requires.

Rodriguez assured Sotto and other senators that the House would stick to the proposed amendments under RBH No. 2 and would not discuss political amendments as feared by those opposed to moves to amend the Constitution.

“We are assuring him, his Senate colleagues and the people that no political amendment proposals will be tackled. We will limit this initiative to economic reform so it can succeed this year,” he said.

Rodriguez reiterated that this year is the best time to introduce amendments to the economic provisions in the Constitution, as it would help the country recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the economy.

He said after Congress approves the proposed amendments, it would call for a plebiscite for the ratification of the people, which could be held simultaneously with the 2022 national elections. —KBK, GMA News