Congress leaders seek meeting with Aquino on Charter-change bid

This is an article repost.

HOUSE Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and his counterpart, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, are looking to set a meeting with President Aquino after his State of the Nation Address (Sona) to get a clear signal on the two Congress leaders’ initiative to push the process of revisiting the economic provisions of the Constitution that are seen to hinder entry of foreign investors into the country.

This was disclosed to the BusinessMirror by Speaker Belmonte in a chance interview last week. Enrile and Belmonte earlier agreed to limit proposed amendments to the 1987 Charter’s economic stipulations, specifically the 40-percent foreign-ownership cap in certain Philippine industries.

Belmonte indicated to the BusinessMirror that they would want to discuss with President Aquino the specifics, such as the preferred mode of amending the Constitution, whether through Congress as a Constituent Assembly or through elected delegates to a Constitutional Convention.

The Enrile-Belmonte initiative gained urgency with the recent Supreme Court decision effectively redefining “capital” and causing the 40-percent foreign-ownership limit to be breached in telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. Foreign investors are closely watching the case and its impact on doing business in the Philippines.

Enrile earlier suggested that addressing major concerns about the country’s investment climate should be high in the President’s legislative agenda “because these are crucial to the future of this country.” He also proposed that the President hold an open dialogue with the business community to gauge their sentiments on the issue. “We need to get real about our economic policies. After so many years, it is already quite clear that we are lagging behind our neighbors because our investment policies are out of tune with the realities of the global economy.”

Enrile cited indicators that foreign investments went down by 15 percent this year even as other Asian countries were seen to be doing much better. For instance, he said Vietnam, which was devastated by war from the 1950s to the ’70s, has overtaken the Philippines in terms of economic growth, even getting over $7 billion in foreign direct investments last year which, he noted, was “over three times the amount that went to the Philippines.”

The Senate Chief recalled that just last week, the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines conveyed concerns about the “slow arrival” of foreign investments in the country and also urged the Aquino administration to review the limits on foreign ownership and improve the business climate by promoting greater stability and consistency in government policies.

This developed as Enrile enlisted the support of lawmakers in both chambers of Congress to pass remedial legislation that would “help government in building the nation’s fiscal and economic capabilities, as well as strengthen the country’s environmental and defense mechanisms.”

In a statement issued on the eve of the resumption of regular sessions, Enrile urged lawmakers to promptly tackle the proposed national budget for 2012 expected to be submitted by Malacañang after the Sona so that senators and congressmen would be able to “assess the various programs of the Aquino administration under what is called a reform budget.” He said the Senate will start deliberations on the proposed General Appropriations Act of 2012 as soon as it reaches the chamber to avoid a re-enacted budget next year.

“Our people expect us to make tough decisions. They elected us to see to it that they have a voice in helping reform our society, and we owe it to them to see to it that their needs are met,” Enrile explained. “It is time that we crank the gears of the engine of sustainable development and use these available resources for the common good.”
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Source: Business Mirror, July 24, 2011
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