MANILA, Philippines — Discussions on charter change would soon restart in the House of Representatives upon the directive of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco (Marinduque), who just three months ago said there was not enough time for such talks.
House constitutional amendments panel chair Alfredo Garbin (AKO BICOL party-list) told Philstar.com that Velasco directed him to tackle proposed amendments to “restrictive” economic provisions in the Constitution.
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“It’s long overdue. Ours is a 33-year-old Constitution of which its restrictive economic provisions no longer conforms to the needs of time,” Garbin said in a message on Wednesday.
Asked if they would also tackle political provisions, like term extensions, Garbin said that their focus is solely on economic provisions.
Garbin said his panel would resume deliberations on proposals to liberalize the Constitution’s economic provisions next Wednesday.
Among those proposals is by Velasco himself, who in 2019 filed Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2, which seeks to convene Congress into a constituent assembly to amend Articles XII, XIV and XVI of the Constitution.
Velasco’s proposed amendments seek to give Congress the power to lift several economic restrictions imposed by the Constitution, like limitations on foreign investments.
Velasco’s proposal does not include provisions for term extensions, but he has said that he is in favor of extending the terms of elected officials, even remarking that the three years allotted for lawmakers to sit in the House is “very short.”
In October, Velasco told the Daily Tribune in an online interview that while he wanted to push for charter change, there is no more time for it, especially while the legislature is focused on how to address the pandemic that has brought the economy to its knees and unemployment to a record high.