President Aquino remains firm in his position and would not prod Congress to green light private sector-led efforts to amend economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution in a bid to lure more foreign investments to the country, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said.
“The President believes it is not necessary to amend the Constitution,” Coloma told the BusinessMirror, when asked if Mr. Aquino is likely to reconsider the proposal of business leaders for the President to endorse moves to tinker with the Charter to relax restrictions on foreign businessmen.
Coloma confirmed that Mr. Aquino has not wavered in his belief that Charter change (Cha-cha) is not the only way to increase investment inflows.
“With good governance and sound macroeconomic management, the investment climate is expected to improve further,” Coloma said, explaining where Mr. Aquino was coming from.
Earlier, businessmen, led by Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines President Francis Lim, who also served as former president of the Philippine Stock Exchange, expressed their “disappointment” over Mr. Aquino’s indifference to their Cha-cha initiatives.
Lim had suggested that President Aquino ask Congress to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution, pointing out that “despite good public governance for more than five years, we still badly trail behind other Asean countries in attracting much-needed foreign direct investments.”
The businessman argued that “good governance alone will not do the trick. Equally important is that the country must liberalize its investment climate.”
But Coloma indicated that President Aquino remains unmoved and is not likely to endorse Cha-cha during his term.