NEW FORMULA: HOUSE PANEL STARTS DEBATE ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
MANILA, AUGUST 9, 2011 (MANILA STANDARD) by Christine F. Herrera - THE House committee on constitutional amendments will begin marathon hearings Tuesday on six proposed economic provisions to pave the way for amendments to the Constitution "by way of legislation," Misamis Occidental Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos said Sunday.
"This is a new formula that the House and the Senate leaderships wanted to try to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution," Ocampos said.
That would entail Congress convening itself into a Constituent Assembly, though in separate sessions and voting separately as agreed by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
But President Benigno Aquino III's left-wing allies questioned the House leadership and demanded to know if the Palace had given its imprimatur to the Charter moves.
"Is Charter Change in [President Aquino's] agenda?" panel member Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan said as she raised the alarm against employing "stealth tactics" in amending the Constitution.
"The timing is highly suspicious," Ilagan said. She said the issue was being raised amid the budget hearings and investigations of the supposed election cheating and high-level corruption during the previous administration.
Ilagan said Ocampos told the panel members that the marathon hearings would start on Aug. 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the Mitra Hall in the Batasan complex.
She said the seven-member progressive bloc in the House would hold an emergency meeting to discuss whether or not they would support the Belmonte-led initiative.
House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman proposed that Belmonte convene an all-party caucus to discuss the parameters behind the plan to amend only the Constitution's economic provisions.
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, the panel's vice chairman, said "now is the time to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution."
"The President did not say he is opposed to Charter amendments. How can the timing be suspicious when this nagging issue has been long overdue waiting to be settled?" he said.
Belmonte, Ocampos and Umali are members of the President's Liberal Party.
Belmonte said he and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile had already agreed to limit the discussions to the economic provisions.
"We do not want an overhaul of the Constitution," Belmonte said.
"The Senate President and I have agreed to push for charter change by way of legislation and to focus on economic provisions such as allowing foreigners to bring in capital and own land and corporations like Filipinos. They can own 100 percent, including public utilities and media entities."
While the plenary debate is to be done separately, the House and Senate are required to obtain two-thirds of the votes, with the House getting 191 votes and the Senate 15 votes.
Once approved by Congress, the Charter change proposal will be submitted to a referendum.
Dasmariñas City Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., chairman of the House committee on suffrage, said Congress would exercise its inherent powers as a Constituent Assembly without both chambers convening jointly.
"It can be done. It is still under the mandate of the Constitution," he said.
Ilagan said the proposed economic amendments would target the protectionist provisions on the national patrimony to boost the government's Public-Private Partnership programs.
Lawmakers from both sides of the political fence seemed supportive of the changes to the economic provisions of the Constitution.
House Deputy Minority leaders Simeon Datumanong of Maguindanao and Maria Milagros Magsaysay said now was the right time to discuss the proposals on amending the Constitution.
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales III of Mandaluyong said liberalizing the ownership of industries was the only way the Philippines could keep up with its neighbors' economic growth. With Maricel Cruz
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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