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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Rodriguez's radical Cha-cha pitch gets backing of 90s quiz show idol 

Rodriguez's radical Cha-cha pitch gets backing of 90s quiz show idol 

Published Feb 29, 2024 05:14 pm

At A Glance

  • Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez's proposed amendment to the 1987 Constitution--easily the most radical one presented during the Committee of the Whole's discussions--has gained the backing of a 90s quiz show idol Orion Dumdum. 
  • Dumdum is now one of the leaders of the CoRRECT (Constitutional Reform & Rectification for Economic Competitiveness & Transformation) movement.

FB_IMG_1678582967702.jpgCagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Facebook)

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez's proposed amendment to the 1987 Constitution--easily the most radical one presented during the Committee of the Whole's discussions--has gained the backing of a 90s quiz show idol.

Orion Dumdum, a former "Battle of the Brains" finalist, is 100 percent behind Rodriguez's proposal, which puts a more clear cut revision on the Charter's economic provisions compared to Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No.7.

Dumdum, now one of the leaders of the CoRRECT (Constitutional Reform & Rectification for Economic Competitiveness & Transformation) movement, was one of the resource persons in plenary during the deliberations on RBH No.7 on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

It was there that he concurred with Rodriguez that that RBH No.7 should be titled “The First Amendment to the 1987 Constitution” in place of the current title that specifies changes to the provisions on public utilities, education, and advertising.

Rodriguez, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Revision, suggested to add just two sentences to the Constitution in the bid to open up the country to more foreign direct investments (FDI).

“The first sentence: All prohibitions and limitations for Foreign Investments in the 1987 Constitution are hereby lifted and repealed. Next sentence: Congress shall enact legislation to regulate foreign investments in the Philippines,” he said.

For Dumdum, the scenario of Filipinos staying in the country instead of taking jobs abroad is achievable through economic Charter change (Cha-cha).

"Economic liberalization will mean more foreign investments, and OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) will come home,” he said.

“[Foreign investors] are welcome in other countries. In the Philippines, they are not welcome…The lack of FDIs creates joblessness and other pressing social issues. [The lifting of these restrictions will] bring the jobs to the Philippines,” he added.

Dumdum is himself a former OFW from Singapore. He was the runner-up of the 1993 grand finals of Battle of the Brains.

RBH No.7 aims to ease constraints on specific economic provisions of the existing Charter by inserting the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law".

One of the key proposed economic reforms aims to reassess the 60-40 equity rule on foreign ownership, which currently limits foreigners to owning up to 40 percent of companies in the Philippines.

Related Tags

Charter change Rufus Rodriguez RBH 7 orion dumdum
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