EFFORTS in the House of Representatives to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, if successful, will surely make the Philippines more friendly to foreign investments and should attract more investors to its shores.
This was the assertion made by Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin during the daily press briefing at the House of Representatives, in response to a question pertaining to two adverse economic outlooks on the Philippines from foreign institutions.
On March 29, the US Trade Representative cited foreign ownership limitations in the Philippines as one of the barriers to trade and investments, while the Milken Institute’s Global Opportunity Index (GOI) report for 2024 said the country ranked 91st out of 130 nations when it comes to attractiveness to foreign investors due to financial access.
Asked whether economic amendments as contained in Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 (RBH 7) recently approved on final reading in the House of Representatives can make the Philippines more “investment-friendly,” Garin responded with, “Definitely!”
“Kasi iyan nga, kitang-kita na may problema ang Constitution ng Pilipinas. Ang nagiging hadlang para magtake-off tayo ay ang ating sariling Constitution. Natural iyan, kasi walang perpekto. So inaamin ngayon iyan pero hindi naiintindihan ng tao sa ibaba,” Garin said.
She said one of the concerns of foreign investors is not being able to own land in the Philippines because the Constitution prohibits it.
“So, kung ikaw ay investor na inutang mo ang bilyong-bilyong capital, kunyari sabihin na natin, kuryente, tubig or internet connectivity. Eh kung ang paglalagyan mo ng iyong power plant, may that be renewable energy or not, kung iyung lupa hindi sa iyo, ano ang mangyayari duon sa investment mo?” Garin asked.
“So talagang tama ang sinasabi ninyo and we have to do that now because napag-iiwanan na tayo. Naiwan na nga tayo, humahabol na nga lang tayo, pipilayin mo pa. So pag pinilay natin iyong mga paa ng Pilipinas na nagtatangkang humabol ay talagang wala tayong patutunguhan,” she added.
She also criticized the recent Pulse Asia survey indicating a large majority of Filipinos not favoring amendments to the Constitution, saying the questions were crafted poorly.
“We go back to the Pulse Asia Survey, so that question should have been crafted in such a way na – alam nyo bang ayaw ng mga negosyanteng pumasok dahil may hadlang sa Constitution?” Garin noted.
“Pag sinabi nilang hindi nila alam, then we have to educate the people,” Garin said.
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