A former official of the Preparatory Commission on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR) has endorsed the proposal of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to amend certain  economic provisions in the 1987 Charter, saying the move would create more jobs and economic opportunities necessary to free millions of Filipinos from the shackles of poverty.

Margarito Teves, a former commissioner of the PCCR and now chairman of Think Tank Inc.,  said flexibility in the country’s constitutional economic principles would help achieve the government’s goal of “inclusive growth.”

Teves, a former member of Congress himself,  was among the resource persons invited by the House committee on constitutional amendments to the ongoing public consultations on Belmonte’s proposal.

Belmonte, the honorary chairperson of the National Unity Party, has filed a resolution before the House of Representatives seeking to amend certain economic provisions in the Constitution by inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.” This, he said, would allow Congress to make the necessary adjustments  to the country’s economic policies, particularly on the limits to foreign ownership in certain industries.

The process would require the three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Senate and the House voting separately on the proposed amendments, which, may ultimately be ratified by the people in a national plebiscite before it can take effect.



"The proposed change is just a key to unlock the country's vast potentials for growth," the Speaker stressed in his resolution.

Besides Teves, the other resource persons invited to the committee hearing chaired by Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano were former University of the Philippines president Jose Abueva,  Antonio Abad, representing COCOPEA and the Employers' Confederation of the Philippine (ECOP), Boots Guerrero, president of the Philippine Association of Local Service Contractors (PALSCON), and  Paul Richard Paraguya of the Coalition for a Citizens’ Constitution (CACC).

Guerrero expressed reservations over the possibility of allowing foreign workers to enter the fields of architecture, chemical engineering, geology, and other technology-related fields in the country, while Abad  said opening real estate to foreign ownership may lead to a situation where "we will find ourselves foreigners in our own country."

Abad also expressed reservations on the addition of the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law" because, he pointed out, "Congress can always decide to change the Constitution at any time, and that's dangerous."

Teves responded to these concerns by assuring them that the inflow of foreign direct investments would help Government raise the  funds  urgently needed for social services such as health care, education, and housing.

“The expected influx of foreign investments will certainly supplement and not supplant government development programs, improve quality of education, employability of graduates and open up better employment opportunities, Teves said.

Also invited as resource persons were Alex Brillante (commissioner, Commission on Higher Education (CHED);  Alejandro Teves-Escano (chairman and president, Technical Vocational Schools Association of the Philippines – TEVSAPhil); Herman Basbano (president, Kapisanan ng mga Broadcasters sa Pilipinas - KBP);
  Adelle Chua (opinion editor, Manila Standard Today);  Mahar Mangahas (president, Social Weather Stations (SWS); and Pia Bennagen-Raquedan (associate research director, Pulse Asia, Inc.)