Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday he intends to file a resolution in the 16th Congress convening the Senate and the House of Representatives into a constituent assembly to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
He said the amendments are necessary to attract investments to the Philippines, which registered among the lowest foreign direct investments in Southeast Asia.
The House leader said the resolution would have the two chambers voting separately on the proposed amendments to increase its chances of being approved in the Senate.
In the past, resolutions convening Congress into a Charter-amending body were junked by the Senate because senators would be outnumbered by House members in the proposed joint voting on amendments.
Belmonte, however, said he would still have to consult with the “powers that be so we can get support,” adding various business groups would support his move.
“My idea is not to change (the economic provisions) just for the sake of changing. We have so many resources that remain untapped unless we are able to fully develop them,” Belmonte said.
“My mode (constituent assembly) is the simplest one. We’ll meet together but definitely vote separately,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers, both old and new, filed their respective bills for the incoming Congress, including those that were vetoed by President Aquino, on the first day of filing of such measures yesterday.
Re-elected Muntinlupa City Rep. Rodolfo Biazon had the distinction of filing House Bill No. 0001, the proposed National Defense and Security Act.
It was learned that Biazon’s staff had been taking shifts since May 14 to maintain their place in the long queue in the bills and index section of the House to ensure that he would file the first bill in the chamber.
It does not mean though that a bill that is first to be filed will be first to be approved.
Biazon also filed other bills and two resolutions, including amendments to the Administrative Code, Prescribing an Additional Qualification for the Secretary of the National Defense; Articles of Military Justice; National Transportation Safety Board Act; and the proposed Customs Modernization Act.
Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her son Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo refiled their bills for a Corporate Social Responsibility Act and the bill amending the charter of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).
The former leader has been detained at the VMMC in Quezon City since July last year on plunder charges.
The Magna Carta for the Poor and the Centenarian Bill, which Aquino vetoed earlier this year, were also refiled.
Cebu City Rep. Raul del Mar filed HB 29, An Act providing for a Magna Carta for the Poor. His daughter, Rachel Marguerite, was among the principal authors of the same measure in the 15th Congress.
In vetoing the measure, Aquino described the bill as unrealistic.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman Jr. filed House Bill 100 or the proposed Centenarians Act of 2013, which seeks to honor and grant benefits to centenarians. The same measure was principally authored by his father, Edcel Sr.
Aquino said the bill’s provision granting a 75 percent discount for goods and services to centenarians was too much. Lagman Sr. blamed then Sen. Francis Pangilinan for inserting the fatal provision.
Another bill that was filed through indirect initiative was the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill by a coalition of non-government organizations pushing for transparency in government.
The FOI bill was blocked at the plenary in the 15th Congress because of lack of support from Aquino.
The Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition filed the measure at the bill and index section, which is allowed under the law. The bill, however, should be sponsored by a member of Congress.
Vincent Lazatin of the Transparency and Accountability Network said under Republic Act No. 6735, a bill filed in such a manner should be given importance by Congress.
He said their version was not substantially different from the one filed in the 15th Congress but had some refinements.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, along with other members of the Makabayan bloc, filed House Resolution No. 08 calling for the scrapping of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement.
Colmenares’ group filed a total of 27 bills, including the proposed bill re-orienting the Philippine mining industry, an Act prohibiting political dynasties, and increasing pensions under the Social Security System.
Belmonte welcomed the filing of the bills and expressed hope that they would all be good for the country.
Source: Paolo Romero, Philippines Star, 2 July 2013
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