THE chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments today accused several business groups of flip-flopping on the issue of amending the Constitution’s “restrictive” economic provisions so the country could attract more foreign investments.
In particular, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez named the Makati Business Club (MBC) and Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) as the organizations that have changed their stand in their recent statement on Charter reform.
“MBC and Finex are now against Charter amendments. Before this position, they were in favor of changing the Constitution’s economic provisions,” he said.
In a joint statement on Friday, MBC, Finex, Filipina CEO Circle, Judicial Reform Initiative, Philippine Women’s Economic Network, and Women Business Council of the Philippines opposed the current House initiative to rewrite the Constitution’s economic provisions.
They cited the high cost of funding a constitutional convention that would propose the amendments, the investment promotion campaign of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and recently enacted laws that aim to relax certain economic restrictions.
Rodriguez said the President’s efforts to attract foreign capital “are commendable but are still subject to the limitations of the Constitution, as are recent laws, including the amended Public Service Act.”
“These laws cannot amend the Charter. As for the cost involved, we are trying to keep them to the minimum,” he said.
He said MBC and Finex favored Charter reform in previous position papers sent to his committee.
In a position paper dated Sept. 11, 2019, the Makati Business Club said it was reiterating its “long-running support” to lift investment restrictions in the Constitution.
“Among other means, we support adding the words ‘unless otherwise provided by law,’ following the constitutional provisions that set the limits on various sectors. In a competitive global economy, we believe in lower barriers to trade and investment in general. In a dynamic global economy, we believe any barriers should be subject to modification by the President and Congress, better than being fixed in the Constitution,” the club said.
It said a survey among Asean nations, China and India “shows that while their constitutions may discuss economic principles, specific economic restrictions and guidelines are left to the legislature.”
“Further economic liberalization will bring in new players and technology, which will boost competition on price and quality, benefiting Filipino consumers,” it said.
Finex, in a letter to the Rodriguez committee last Feb. 17, said it agreed with House members on the need to amend the Charters economic provisions, “which have resulted in the most restrictive economic environment among our peer countries and have impeded foreign investments.”
“We note that in almost all countries in the world, restrictions on foreign investments are not contained in their Constitutions. Instead, restrictions on foreign trade and investments are done through legislation or administrative orders that can be changed to suit shifting national priorities,” it said.
Finex also supported the proposed convening of a constitutional convention to propose the amendments.
Rodriguez also cited the Jan. 22, 2021 joint statement of several business organizations, including MBC, Finex, Filipina CEO Circle, Management Association of the Philippine, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Judicial Reform Initiative, more than a year before the May 2022 elections.
In their statement, the groups urged candidates “to express their support for the relaxation of restrictive economic provisions in our Constitution and commit to initiate steps for the adoption of such provisions within the first 12 months of their term.”
“So we in the House and some supporters in the Senate are on the right tract. We are following the recommendations of these big business groups, including their suggested timeline,” Rodriguez said.
