Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya pointed out on Wednesday that “the bicameral nature of Congress makes separate voting logical, prudent, and reasonable.”
(PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Constitutional Reform (IATF-CORE) which Malaya is the chairman noted that Congress should vote separately on the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution because of its bicameral nature.
With both chambers having separate membership, leadership, and rules, Malaya insisted that voting “separately is ideal and doable.’’
Malaya added that a legislative action through a Constituent Assembly of both houses would be the most expeditious manner of changing the Constitution.
In practice, Malaya maintained that Constitutional Conventions are not meant for amendments but are convened by Congress to draft an entirely new Charter, on the assumption that the existing Charter must be changed wholesale.
“Therefore, a Constituent Assembly would be the preferred, ideal, and proper mode to lift the restrictive economic provisions of the Charter,” Malaya stressed.
Earlier, Malaya said that ongoing public hearings on constitutional reforms in both houses of Congress are sending a strong signal that the Philippines is undertaking the necessary economic reforms to make the country more attractive to foreign investments.
“The lifting of the restrictive economic provisions would allow us to have an adaptable economic policy regime at this crucial period in our nation’s history rather than being tied down to a fixed set of policies,” Malaya said.
For the country to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaya said the government must open up the economy to achieve a truly inclusive investments-led economic growth that will create more jobs for the people.
Malaya also stressed that the IATF-CORE has agreed with the position of House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, that both Houses of Congress should indeed vote separately.
He noted that Senators Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa and Francis Tolentino have sponsored a resolution calling for Congress to convene into a Constituent Assembly to change provisions on democratic representation and the economic provisions of the Constitution.
Dela Rosa said he sincerely believes that amending the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution is just a timely endeavor but a just and worthy cause.
In a statement at the start of today’s first public hearing on proposals to amend or modify two provisions in the Charter, Dela Rosa said this is the reason why he and Sen. Francis “Tol” N. Tolentino filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 which aims to hasten the recovery of our economy.
“Relaxing the requirements for entry of foreign investments will make our country attractive to investors,’’ Dela Rosa said.
“With high investments in local industries, our country will recover faster from the recent economic loss and ensure inclusive and sustainable development. More businesses shall equate to more job opportunities for our fellow Filipinos. We do not intend to just settle for band-aid solutions to our country’s rising unemployment but rather a long-term solution that shall not only boost our economy but also uplift the lives of our people,” he added.
Dela Rosa said others would say that it’s not a good time to amend the Constitution because of the pandemic.
‘’However, it is my humble opinion that because of the existence of pandemic, the more it is necessary to consider again the discourse on relaxing restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution to rapidly revive and revitalize our economy.’’ (with a report from Mario Casayuran)