BAGUIO CITY – The Senate needs at least two more votes from the members of the upper chamber to pass Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 that seeks to lift the economic restrictions enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri described the public hearing conducted by the Senate Sub-Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Senator Juan Edgardo Angara in the city Friday as ‘very encouraging’ because 95 percent of the sectors that responded to the invitation expressed their full support to the proposed removal of the economic limitations.
Aside from Zubiri and Angara, Senator Loren Legarda and Re-electionist Senators Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go also attended the public hearing and intently listened to the positions that were expounded by representatives from the various sectors from the different parts of Northern Luzon.
Zubiri admitted that there are still senators who have doubts in the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution because of certain trust issues which must be clarified to them that the primary intention of the lifting of the said restrictions is for the good of the nation and welfare of the Filipinos.
After the conduct of the public hearing in the city, the senators will be conducting similar hearings in Cebu for the Visayas and Cagayan de oro for the Mindanao leg prior to coming out with the committee report that will be deliberated upon in the plenary.
The Senate President admitted that the proposed amendment to the economic provisions will still be a long process because lawmakers will still have to convince the electorate to ratify the same during a plebiscite that will be called for the purpose.
:I believe that the proposed amendments under RBH 6 is harmless but have far more reaching benefits to court country in terms of investments,” Zubiri stressed.
He claimed that the committee might be able to come out with a detailed report on the results of the public hearings around the country by the end of the month where it will be specified that the lifting of the economic restrictions will be limited to the opening up of advertising, education and public services.
According to him, there are already 15 to 16 senators who are not adverse to the proposed constitutional amendment under RBH 6 which is on the economic provisions and not political, thus, the majority still needs a lot of lobbying and convincing to rally those lawmakers that are in doubt to vote in favour of the desired changes in the economic provisions to bring in more investments to the country in the future.
Senate President Zubiri underscored the importance of communicating the benefits of removing the economic restrictions enshrined in the constitution so that they will fully understand that the same will translate to the welfare of the Filipinos in the future considering the very low acceptance of the said proposal among the people based on the latest survey results.
“We must take the proposed constitutional amendments to the people. We should not ram it on their throats because in the end, it might get lost in the plebiscite, thus, we need to do a lot of explaining,” Zubiri stated.
Under the provisions of the 1987 Constitution, at least three-fourths vote is required from both chambers of Congress to introduce the proposed amendments to the charter which means that in the Senate, 18 senators must vote in favour to push through with the changes.
Senator dela Rosa asserted that from the start, he was in favour of the proposed amendments to the Constitution but the same must be limited to the economic provisions only.
Further, he pointed out that voting of both chambers should be done separately in due respect to the independence of both houses.
Senator Go claimed that what is important is that it will be the Filipino people who will benefit from the proposed lifting of the economic restrictions to ensure the influx of more investments, creation of more jobs and provision of enhanced economic activities and sources of livelihood that will translate to the better lives of the people.
He said that he will base his decision whether or not to vote in favour of the proposed changes based on the clamor of the Filipino people who stand to benefit from the said initiative.
For his part, Senator Angara appreciated the inputs of the resource persons, especially their concerns on the welfare of local industries and labor, which will surely be addressed in the committee report that will be crafted after the series of public hearings around the country.
He assured that the committee will work on the much awaited report during the break and will submit the same for deliberations right after the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. so that a decision will be decided upon.
By Dexter A. See
