The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments will stay the course on its Charter change (Cha-cha) deliberations.
Panel chairman, Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez gave this guarantee Monday, Feb. 13, amid pronouncements from President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. himself that Cha-cha wasn't a priory of his administration.
“We respect the opinion of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on constitutional amendment measures. We will of course consider it. But as an independent branch of government, the House of Representatives and Congress will proceed with its public dialogues on this issue,” Rodriguez said.
The committee has already conducted three hearings in the House of Representatives on the various pending bills about revising the 1987 Constitution.
Last Friday, the panel began its public consultations on Cha-cha in Cagayan de Oro. On Monday, the committee held public consultations in Iloilo.
“We laud and commend President Marcos Jr. for trying to entice foreign businessmen in his trips abroad to invest their money in the country. He is our country's best salesman. But certain restrictive provisions of the Charter could be impeding investments,” Rodriguez said.
“In our hearings at the House of Representatives last week and in Cagayan de Oro City last Friday, the overwhelming recommendation was to rewrite the Constitution’s economic provisions to allow for more foreign investments,” the Mindanaoan noted.
He said participants also suggested the calling of an elected constitutional convention (con-con) to propose Charter changes.
Rodriguez further said that "The emerging consensus is to relax restrictions on the entry of foreign capital into the country."
He added that his committee will hold more consultations, namely in San Fernando, Pampanga; San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan; and other parts of Luzon.