HOUSE Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin gave an assurance on Thursday that political amendments to the 1987 Constitution would never happen, saying that most of the House members only favor reform on Articles XII, XIV, and XVI.
“The political amendments are very impossible… Talking to most members of the House, almost all of them who support the bill are limited doon sa tatlong amendments,” Garin said during the press conference held in the House of Representatives.
“No political amendments. Definitely hindi naman ‘yan maglolokahan sa floor. The voice of the people and the voice of the majority of the members of Congress will be carried,” the lawmaker added.
On Wednesday, the Committee of the Whole approved the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7 after six days of hearings wherein the lawmakers heard the testimonies of the resource persons who are experts in the fields of education, economy, and law.
The House will be bringing RBH No. 7 to the plenary for deliberations on March 11 and hopes to pass the resolution on the second by March 13, Garin said.
The lawmaker reiterated that RBH No. 7 would help improve the lives of Filipino people as there would be more job opportunities, higher salaries, and affordable utilities if foreign investors entered the country, stressing that the Constitutional reform is only about opening the economy.
“Kung ang Constitution ay masyadong nakakahon, at sa bilis ng galaw ng mundo ay talagang maiiwan ka… Economic Charter change is all about flexibility,” Garin said.
“The direction of the current administration is not to taint the law, not to taint the proposed measure… This is all about our economy,” the Iloilo lawmaker added.
Garin also believes it is “just a matter of time for the Senate to embrace the real change that the Philippines needs.”
