The continued drop in unemployment rate under the Marcos administration should serve as an "impetus" to relax the “restrictive” economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, said Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.
Barbers: Lowered unemployment rate should be 'impetus' for economic Cha-cha
Jan 10, 2024 04:32 AM
At a glance
Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers
The continued drop in unemployment rate under the Marcos administration should serve as an "impetus" to relax the “restrictive” economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
Thus, said Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, a backer of the long-sought "economic Charter change (Cha-cha)" among House of Representatives members.
According to the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), unemployment rate further slid to 3.6 percent last November, down from the 4.2 percent recorded in November 2022 and October 2023.
Barbers said that lifting such restrictive provisions would allow the country to attract more foreign investments.
“More foreign investments will mean more jobs, more economic activities and more income for our people,” said the veteran solon from Mindanao.
He added that the Charter’s economic provisions restrict foreign capital inflow “because they contain a cap on foreign ownership and investment that cannot be lifted or amended by any law".
“That’s why constitutional amendments focused on the economic provisions are urgently needed,” Barbers underscored.
The House had aggressively pushed for Cha-cha last year by proposing the Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) method. This was done via the passage of two measures.
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One of them is Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6, titled "Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) calling for a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) to propose amendments to, or revision of, the 1987 Constitution, appropriating funds therefor".
The other is House Bill (HB) No. 7352, also known as "An Act implementing Resolution of Both Houses No.6 of the Congress of the Philippines calling for a Constitutional Convention to propose amendments to, or revision of, the 1987 Constitution, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes".
However, this push for constitutional amendments via Con-Con has not prospered in the Senate, which is the other legislative chamber in the bicameral Congress.
Cha-cha proponents are now looking at another mode--the People’s Initiative or PI--in the quest to tweak the Constitution.