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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'May pagka-kulelat tayo': Speaker cites sad reality to justify Cha-cha

'May pagka-kulelat tayo': Speaker cites sad reality to justify Cha-cha

Published Dec 20, 2023 05:34 am

At A Glance

  • House Speaker Martin Romualdez has underscored the need for economic Charter change (Cha-cha) by acknowledging the sad reality that the Philippines has been "left behind" by it neighbor-countries. 

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House Speaker Martin Romualdez has underscored the need for economic Charter change (Cha-cha) by acknowledging the sad reality that the Philippines has been "left behind" by it neighbor-countries. 

"Naiiwanan talaga tayo. Yun po ang realidad (We’ve been left behind. That's the reality)," Romualdez said in an interview Wednesday, Dec. 20. 

The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president had just come back from Tokyo wherein he accompanied President Marcos in the 50th ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Commemorative Summit. 

"Ang binabanggit ng ating mga neigboring countries and countries na gustong mag-invest sa atin na yung ating Constitution ay pinaka restrictive or pinaka-strikto sa buong rehiyon (What is being said by our neighboring countries and the countries that want to invest in us is that our Constitution is the most restrictive in the entire region). 

"Mas open ang Constitution ng Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam kaya mas maraming foreign direct investments (FDIs), sa totoo lang po may pagka-kulelat tayo (The Constitutions of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are more open to receiving FDIs, the truth is we are lagging behind)," Romualdez said. 

ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines is a founding member of the regional bloc. 

Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, recently announced plans to revisit discussions on Cha-cha next year for the purpose of easing the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. 

The House leadership is apparently looking at the People's Initiative (PI) mode of constitutional revision after the chamber’s bid for a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) went nowhere in the Senate. 

The 24-member Senate is the other legislative chamber in the bicameral Philippine Congress. 

At any rate, Romualdez believes that Cha-cha supporters exist in the Senate, despite Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri's lukewarm reception to the effort. 

"Yung iba naman ho dyan sa Senado mukhang open na, hindi ko sasabihin na lahat (I wouldn't say all of them are, but some in the Senate appear to be open to Cha-cha)," he said.

Related Tags

Charter change Association of Southeast Asian Nations Martin Romualdez
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