Charter change information campaign needed

The draft Charter for a federal government that was approved by the Consultative Committee (Concom) is causing some concern due to uncertainties regarding the transitory provisions. A survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations revealed that only one out of four Filipinos is aware of the proposed shift toward federalism, which is why the proposed amendments should be properly disseminated to the public. Business including the international media will be closely watching the developments in the Philippines. 

Former chief justice Reynato Puno, chair of the 22-member Concom, has given assurances that all the proposed changes will be extensively discussed in order to diminish what he described as “unfounded fears” especially on the issue of term extensions for government officials.  

For sure, there will be a lot of debate and discussion on many of the provisions and clauses such as the ones on taxation, anti-political dynasty, the structure of federated regions, among others. What is also important, however, is to change the outdated and protectionist economic provisions in the current Charter.

As Camarines Sur Congressman LRay Villafuerte pointed out, the restrictive provisions are “an anachronism” in light of a global economy. The Philippines has been named the best country to invest in by the US News and World Report; we have been getting rating upgrades; foreign direct investments (FDI) grew 43.5 percent during the first quarter – but compared to our neighbors in Asia, we are still lagging when it comes to FDI.  

Investors are also seeking clarity on the proposed constitutional amendments, saying they want to know the effect of devolution of power to the local government on the economy. Another area of concern is the cap on foreign ownership in some sectors such as real estate, public utilities and media and advertising. Some said they are unhappy that the 40 percent limit on foreign ownership of corporations, public utilities and property have not been relaxed in the new draft charter – which could turn away potential investors.

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The Manila Rotary event at the Makati Diamond Residences last Thursday was a welcome treat for me in getting together with my fellow Rotarians and old friends including guests from the diplomatic corps like Israeli Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau, Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda, Consul General Russel Brown and Vice Consul Tara Shaughnessy of the US embassy, and the Thai embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Urawadee Sriphiromya. 

The Manila Rotary speaking engagement was an opportunity for me to talk on our current bilateral relationship with the United States.  I was especially pleased to have my friend – in fact everybody’s friend – US Ambassador Sung Kim introduce me. Ambassador Kim said he does not get many opportunities to introduce people in speaking events, and that the last time he introduced anyone, it was President Donald Trump – eliciting laughter from the audience. In such a short time, Ambassador Kim has made a lot of Filipino friends – not at all surprising with his affable and easy disposition. 

One of the key factors in effective diplomacy is maintaining good relations with people – something that has served us well in our relationship with the United States. As I told the audience, the deep people-to-people ties is one of the reasons why we have maintained this special friendship with the US over the decades.

When I first arrived in Washington, D.C., it was a bit challenging to spend almost every single day trying to squeeze in as many meetings with people as I could in a 10-hour work day because we did not have an ambassador in Washington for a year and a half. But one of the rewards is that whenever I meet US congressmen or senators – most of them friendly – the common remark I hear from them is that they are happy with the Filipino-American community in their area. As I shared with the guests, Filipinos have a very good image in the US, which makes my job as a diplomat easier in Washington.

During the open forum, members of the audience asked questions about the state of our relations with the United States, including President Donald Trump’s invitation to President Duterte to visit the White House. Like Ambassador Kim had averred, it’s really a matter of scheduling. Hopefully, the president will be able to make a decision on when he will be visiting the US. 

With regard to the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, my fellow ASEAN diplomats in Washington are naturally concerned and a bit nervous because their countries are economically engaged with China. However, they also get what President Trump is trying to do, correcting what he says is a lopsided arrangement and perhaps trying to bring China to negotiate a better trade deal.

At the same time, the Trump administration is open with other countries like the Philippines in negotiating a free trade agreement. I just wanted to make a correction which quoted me as saying we will begin negotiations in September. Actually, both countries are currently on their internal consultative stage. We are a long way off before we can even begin negotiations.

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More than 300 US citizens from all over the US were here for the Ambassadors’ Tour, an annual program of the Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the US to promote the Philippines as a destination.

Our friend Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada welcomed us at the wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal Monument to commence the activities for the one-week tour featuring Cebu, Bohol and Manila (see photos in This Week on PeopleAsia at the Allure section of the Philippine STAR today).

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Email: [email protected].