A weekly webinar series where experts will share their opinions on the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution will kick off on Friday, May 14.
The event, which is being organized by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), also intends to stimulate awareness on the proposed economic amendments to the Charter.
The webinar series aims to boost public knowledge on the issue by dissecting the 10 important concerns for amendments under labor; micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs); public utilities (telecomm, energy and electricity); advertising/ entertainment, and general topics.
At the center of the discussion is the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2 authored by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, which calls on the House of Representatives to pass the resolution amending certain economic provisions before the legislative chamber ends its session in June this year.
The House plenary deliberations on the Chater Change (Cha-cha) resolution will resume next week.
DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that the webinar series will be led by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Constitutional Reform (IATF-CORE) in partnership with the Center for Research and Communication (CRC).
Several groups and agencies are scheduled to discuss supporting studies to convince lawmakers to lift the economic restrictions of the Charter with support from business groups.
Vince Revil, CORE Movement chairperson, said the launch of the online economic fora is expected to increase involvement and support from various sectors and groups for the proposed amendments.
“Our country needs to reform the economic provisions of the Constitution because of the unintentional consequences that limited foreign direct investments (FDIs), and increased oligopoly and unemployment,” Revil said.
“Now is the best time to open up the economy for the long-term recovery program after this pandemic. Let us regain the glory of the Philippines as the economic tiger of Asia,” he also said.
Revil stressed that the country would need a long-term plan to help the economy recover from the devastating effects of the year-long coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. He said the lifting of such restrictive economic provisions would help the country bounce back in terms of increased business activities, employment, and FDI.
The webinar series will be streamed live on the DILG and CORE Facebook pages. (Chito A. Chavez)