LAWMAKERS on Monday allayed fears of some big business on proposals to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, saying that business leaders should attend hearings on Charter change and express their misgivings about the efforts.
Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, who attended today’s press briefing of the House of Representatives, said that business groups who are expressing apprehension about economic amendments to the constitution should attend hearings in the Senate and in the House.
“Is this what businessmen are really saying? I’d like to hear directly from them because so far, I’ve been listening to businessmen say that this will actually be beneficial to our country,” Roman, Chairperson of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality, said.
For La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V, also present during the press briefing, he said these big business leaders should be invited as resource persons in the Senate or in the House so they could clearly articulate their concerns.
“For me, they should engage ‘dun sa hearings po ng RBH 6 kasi ‘dun po nila ilalabas ‘yung side nila, engage in the debate, in the discussions. Then ‘yung tao po ang titingin dyan ng advantages and disadvantages, baka naman po hindi ‘yung para kay Juan, hindi naman po para sa karamihan,” Ortega said.
“So dapat makita po natin ‘yung advantages and disadvantages, especially these are business tycoons, moguls or big business people. They should show (us and help us) weigh on the pros and cons. So I suggest that they attend the hearings (in the Senate) or even attend the hearings here in the House of Representatives,” he added.
Roman said that allowing foreign investors into the country in sectors targeted by the Charter amendments will be beneficial for the Filipino people.
She said in business, competition is always essential, as it benefits consumers because companies do better to sell more.
“Competition is good because when there is competition, companies will vie for customers and clients and how do they do that? By improving the quality of their services, of their products and also by lowering prices,” Roman said.
“So, this is how these amendments to the economic provision can directly impact the lives of so many Filipinos,” she added.
Deputy Speaker and Quezon Province Rep. David “Jayjay” Suarez agreed with Roman and said competition benefits the people.
“Competition breeds excellence. So if you want to have better products, better services, better employment opportunities, a better high-paying job for the Filipino people, we need to allow them (foreign investors) to come in,” Suarez said.
“We also need to send a signal to the world, now the doors of the Philippines is open for more foreign direct investments to come in which will only bring more opportunities for the Filipino people,” he added.
