The House of Representatives on Thursday said it is planning to pass on second reading Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 1, or the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, before year-end.
House Majority Leader and Liberal Party Rep. Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II of Mandaluyong City, in an interview, said that members of the lower chamber may decide to pass RBH 1 before the Congress takes its Christmas break.
“Yes, we may vote on the passage of economic Cha-cha [Charter change, before our break],” Gonzales told reporters.
Congress will take a one-month break from December 20, 2014 to January 18, 2015.
According to the majority leader, the lower chamber is the main proponent of the measure and that senators would still wait for the House version once it passed the third reading before the upper house tackles it.
The resolution, filed by Belmonte and Sen. Ralph Recto, is eyeing to amend economic provisions on the 60-40 rule that limits foreign ownership of certain activities in the Philippines.
The resolution will include the phrase “unless provided by law” in the foreign-ownership provision of the Constitution, particularly land ownership, public utilities, natural resources, media and advertising industries.
Under Article XII of the Constitution, foreign investors are prohibited to own more than 40 percent of real properties and businesses, while they are totally restricted to exploit natural resources and own any company in the media industry.
The amendments to the Charter will be approved through separate votings by both chambers, with a three-fourths vote required of them.
Earlier, Belmonte said that the House of Representatives will convince the public to support his proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
According to the recent survey by Pulse Asia, around three out of five Filipinos do not want the 1987 Constitution amended at this time, though nearly half of them are open to having it amended sometime in the future.
The survey, which was conducted from September 8 to 15, also showed 62 percent of Filipinos do not want the Charter amended to allow a second term for President Aquino, whose Palace term expires in June 2016.
“For 62 percent of Filipinos, there is no need to amend the 1987 Constitution at the present time—with 32 percent opposed to Charter change at any other time and 30 percent being open to Charter change at some future time,” it said.
Other priorities
Meanwhile, Gonzales also said that the lower chamber will also prioritize in its last three-week session the passage of the joint resolution granting President Aquino emergency powers, the 2015 proposed national budget and the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act.
“We are also planning to approve the 2015 budget through bicameral conference and to adopt the Joint Resolution 21 [emergency powers]. And we are also targeting to approve the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act,” he said.
Gonzales said that also included in their priorities are the passage of the proposed Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and Anti-Smuggling and the bill providing two additional Sandiganbayan divisions.
Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz