(MANILA BULLETIN)

The proposed revision of the nearly four-decade-old Constitution won't rip Philippine society asunder. 

Aklan 2nd district Rep. Teodorico Haresco Jr. made this reassurance of sorts as he continued to press for much-needed economic Charter change (Cha-cha). 

Haresco noted that the hesitance to revisit the 1987 Constitution stems from what he said was an unfounded fear that it will disrupt societal harmony. 

“We base our assumption that if weopen up the discussion on the Constitution, we'd break up our society. That is completely untrue,” Haresco, an economist, said in a statement Sunday, Feb. 18. 

He argued that countries like the United States (US), with a dynamic economy, have demonstrated the flexibility of constitutional frameworks to accommodate modern demands without jeopardizing social cohesion. 

"The US, it is a free economy—you can buy land, whatever you can invest in whatever, wherever. That’s the land of the free," the veteran solon said. 

“But it seems to me from the point of view of economics, our Constitution is for the land of the few,” he added. 

Haresco emphasized the need for the Philippines to reassess its constitutional framework to foster a more inclusive and competitive environment. 

He stressed that the current Constitution impedes the country's ability to attract foreign investment, leverage technology, and fully participate in the global economy. 

“We don't have enough capital. We don't have enough technology. We don't have enough foreign entrepreneurship to participate actively in this global world,” he emphasized. 

Haresco and his fellow Cha-cha proponents have insisted that lifting the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution--especially when it pertains to foreign ownership--will lead to the influx of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the country. 

Without embracing constitutional reform, Haresco warned that the Philippines not only risks lagging behind in the Association of  Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but the entire Asian region. 

“If we don’t open ourselves to this debate about opening up the Constitution, we will be not only the laggard of ASEAN, but of Asia,” he said.