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Garbiela Party List  Rep. Hon. Arlene D. Brosas.  House of Representatives/Handout

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HOUSE OF REP

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA - House Lawmakers who voted against Resolution of Both Houses #7 or the House&#x27;s economic charter change resolution had 2 main reasons: the procedure and the pitfalls of empowering Congress to regulate foreign investments in public utilities, advertising and education.Objections over the procedure centered mainly on the House&#x27;s decision to process RBH7 as a regular bill that went through proceedings at the committee before deliberation and approval by the whole House on 2nd, 3rd and final reading.They argue this is not constitutional, as the charter only states that amendments maybe proposed to the voters in a plebiscite by a People&#x27;s Initiative, a constitutional convention and a 3/4 vote of all members.<div>QUESTIONS ON PROCEDURE</div>Some vocally opposed.&quot;In terms of the process, nasa Section 144 ng ating House Rules na ang pwedeng i-adopt ay Resolutions proposing Amendments pero based din sa naging interpellations natin ay ang ginagawa po natin ay adoption ng mismong proposed amendments to the Constitution. Iba ito sa ginawa natin last year Mr. Speaker, noong March 2023, kung saan ang inaprubahan natin ay isang Resolution na ang intent ay mag proceed sa pagbabago ng ating Constitution, although that time ay through ConCon,&quot; Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel said. &quot;Ngayon, as also confirmed by some resource persons, what we’re doing technically not a ConAss, hindi din siya ConCon and obviously hindi din ito People’s Initiative. This is the fourth mode at ang ginagawa na po natin ay pag apruba na ng mga amendya sa Constitution. &quot;&quot;The 1987 Constitution only allows three modes of amending our Constitution. These are through a Constituent Assembly, a Constitutional Convention, and a People&#x27;s Initiative. The fourth method or the Bernas formula, which the House of Representatives is currently using to amend our Constitution, is not included in those three methods. Thus, this is very questionable. Our Constitution is the highest law of land. Hindi dapat ituring na parang isang ordinaryong panukalang batas ang pagbabago sa ating Konstitusyon&quot; Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/20221207-hrep-gabriela-arlene-brosas-HO.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Garbiela Party List Rep. Hon. Arlene D. Brosas. House of Representatives/Handout"/>Gabriela Party List  Rep. Hon. Arlene D. Brosas.  House of Representatives/Handout</div>&quot;Sa tingin natin walang fourth mode–wala sa Konstitusyon yung ginawa natin na pamamaraan ng pag- aamyenda o pagrerebisa ng anumang probisyon sa ating Konstitusyon,&quot; House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro said.The Constitution is actually silent on how Congress shall propose the amendments by a 3/4 vote of all members. It does not  specify any procedures or requirements, such sitting as a constituent assembly. This was the point raised by other lawmakers before the vote.&quot;First of all, there is no such thing as fourth mode. Wala iyan, walang fourth mode. Sabi nga there are only three modes under the constitution. The first mode, the Congress by a vote of ¾ of all its members. Second mode, Concon, either we adopt a bill calling on a concon by ⅔ votes or by a majority vote submit the issue to the people for calling a concon. Third is People’s Initiative. So nasaan kami? Nanduon kami sa first mode,&quot; Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, who managed the hearings of the Committee of the Whole, said. &quot;Kasi walang nakalagay sa Constitution, ngayon niyan. In the 1935 Constitution that requires both Houses of Congress to jointly assembled. Ngayon wala na. Kaya ang sabi nya, Congress by ¾ votes, how can Congress do that? Either in a joint assembly or to have separate proceedings. Like what we are doing right now. Kaya lang kailangan pareho naming ipasa. &quot;Gonzales reiterated that while they are processing it like a regular bill, RBH 7 is not a regular bill.&quot;Hindi ito bill. It&#x27;s a resolution, ang ginagawa lang namin is the process of adopting a bill, meaning requires first reading, second reading and third reading and then papadala sa senate yun kaya we are in the first mode,&quot; Gonzales said.<div>TO LET MORE FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN OR NOT?</div>Members of the Makabayan bloc were joined by members of the Liberal Party in punching holes on the arguments in favor of relaxing foreign investment limits.RBH 7 proposes to append the phrase &quot;unless otherwise provided by law&quot; to give Congress the power to legislate regulations. But that&#x27;s one power these lawmakers don&#x27;t want congress to have.Their main issue: Can Congress be trusted to pass the right laws that are supposedly meant to make the country more competitive in terms of attracting foreign investors to the country?&quot;Resolution of Both Houses #7 introduces the phrase unless otherwise stated by law into some economic provisions in the constitution as a solution to  ease the restrictions set by the charter. However this fails to address the myriad other issues that adversely affect our economy and hinder our nation&#x27;s growth and advancement,&quot; Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado said. &quot;While introducing amendments to the economic provisions of the constitution might result to the country being conducive and welcoming to more foreign capital, it is not a guarantee that it would be the sole key to economic prosperity.&quot;&quot;It&#x27;s a matter of flexibility vs certainty. I go for certainty,&quot; Bordado added.&quot;By adding the phrase &#x27;unless otherwise provided by law&#x27; to a constitutional restriction, Congress is practically capable of changing the limits set by the Constitution at any time. Bibigyan nito ng sobra-sobrang kapangyarihan ang Kongreso para basta-basta na lamang magpasa ng mga batas na hindi naaayon sa pangangailangan ng mamamayang Pilipino,&quot; Brosas said. &quot;Hindi magdadala ng tunay na solusyon at pag-unlad ang Charter Change. Bagkus, magpapalala pa ito ng pagkaatrasado ng ekonomiya.&quot;Lagman also explained that the reduction or removal of the nationalistic provisions of the Constitution is not necessary since the conducive economic environment for foreign direct investments (FDIs) has yet to be put in place by addressing the problems of ease of doing business, rampant official corruption, unpredictability of government policies, slow internet speed, and high power cost.He also cited that no empirical studies have been conducted in the Philippines to justify the positive forecast that the entry of foreign direct investments in the public utilities, educational institutions, and advertising industry will generate more jobs, enhance technology transfer, improve skills development, and produce cheaper goods and services for consumer protection and welfare.The upcoming plenary deliberations on RBH7 will be an opportunity for charter change critics to change the minds of those who approved the measure. Proponents of the bill have repeatedly stated they merely want the flexibility to change the rules so that the country can catch up with its  neighbors who have gotten more foreign direct investments--and as a result---got more prosperous--than the Philippines.<div> </div><div> </div>

House Lawmakers who voted against Resolution of Both Houses #7 or the House's economic charter change resolution had 2 main reasons: the procedure and the pitfalls of empowering Congress to regulate foreign investments in public utilities, advertising and education.

House Lawmakers who voted against Resolution of Both Houses #7 or the House's economic charter change resolution had 2 main reasons: the procedure and the pitfalls of empowering Congress to regulate foreign investments in public utilities, advertising and education.

Some House lawmakers oppose RBH 7 on matters of procedure and merits

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Some House lawmakers oppose RBH 7 on matters of procedure and merits

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 06, 2024 07:45 PM PHT

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Updated Mar 06, 2024 07:59 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

charter change

RBH 7

Resolution of Both Houses No. 7

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