Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Wednesday, Jan. 31, that the Senate's review of the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution will begin next week.

In an ambush interview, Zubiri said that they will create on Wednesday a subcommittee on constitutional amendments that will be headed by Sen. Sonny Angara who will take the lead in tackling the provisions.

"Today we're going to create a subcommittee, wherein Senator Angara will head with the permission of course of Senator Padilla. Tapos by next week mag-uumpisa na po siya sa mga hearing doon sa (Then by next week, he will begin the hearing on) Resolution of Both Houses No. 6," he said.

Zubiri filed this month Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 proposing amendments to Articles XII, XIV and XVI of the 1987 Constitution, which he drafted together with Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Angara.

Here are the following proposals:

Section 11 of Article XII (National Patrimony and Economy) is amended to read as follows:

"No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under the laws of the Philippines, at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens, UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW; nor shall such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or for a longer period than fifty years. Neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress when the common good so requires. The State shall encourage equity participation in public utilities by the general public. UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW, the participation of foreign investors in the governing body of any public utility enterprise shall be limited to their proportionate share in its capital, and all the executive and managing officers of such corporation or association must be citizens of the Philippines."

Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports), is amended to read as follows:

BASIC educational institutions, other than those established by religious groups and mission boards, shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens. The Congress may, however, require increased Filipino equity participation in all educational institutions. The control and administration of educational institutions shall be vested in citizens of the Philippines, UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW."

Paragraph 2, Section 11 of Article XVI (General Provisions), is amended to read as follows:

"Only Filipino citizens or corporations or associations at least seventy per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens shall be allowed to engage in the advertising industry, UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW.

UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW, the participation of foreign investors in the governing body of entities in such industry shall be limited to their proportionate share in the capital thereof, and all the executive and managing officers of such entities must be citizens of the Philippines."

Initially, before the controversies unfolded regarding the People's Initiative (PI) and the alleged involvement of the House of Representatives (HOR), Zubiri said that President Marcos tasked the Senate to take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution to avert a constitutional crisis.

Zubiri has mentioned that while the Constitution must be reviewed in keeping with the demands of the present and the possibilities of the future, "we believe that we must first exhaust all other avenues open to us, though policy-making and legislation."

According to him, even the President was in agreement and said that the PI is "too divisive."

The resolution must get a vote of three-fourths of all its members with each House voting separately. To be formally adopted in the Senate, the resolution only requires 18 affirmative votes both at the subcommittee and plenary levels.

Zubiri said that filing the resolution makes it clear that there are no other planned provisions or amendments on any other thing but purely economic in nature.

"So everything is taking its course gusto po natin na medyo babain ang temperatura ng pulitika sa ating bansa (we want to lower the political temperature in the country). Kami back to work kami dito sa Senado hopefully today maipapasa namin yung mga batas na nakapending dyan sa plenaryo (Us here in the Senate we're going back to work and hopefully we can pass the bills pending there in the plenary), he said.

In relation to calls halt Sen. Imee Marcos' investigation into the PI proceedings that took place, Zubiri said that she cannot be forced to do it and that they respect the committee setup in the Senate.

"So kung gusto ni Ma'am Imee Marcos na ituloy ang kanilang hearing wala po akong magagawa dyan. Puwede lang po tayong makiusap (If Imee Marcos wants to push through with their hearing, there's nothing I can do. We can only ask her)," he added.