The House of Representatives on Tuesday, by way of voice vote, accepted on second studying Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 6 which requires constitutional conference (con-con) for amending the financial provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
The second studying approval occurred after RBH 6 was amended to restrict the constitution change to the financial provisions of the Constitution as proposed by the Iloilo Representative Lorenz Defensor.
House constitutional amendments panel chairperson Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro accepted the modification, saying “it is what came up during our public consultations.”
House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT Teachers party-list, nevertheless, was not reassured regardless of such an modification limiting constitutional change to financial provisions.
“It is not true that only economic provisions would be tackled with the Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 as Committee on Constitutional Amendments chairman Rufus Rodriguez himself said at the first on-site charter change consultation in Cagayan de Oro last February 10. Chair Rodriguez said that ‘when there’s a constitutional convention, they will have the constituent power to also be able to discuss not only our economic provisions, but also political amendments…,” Castro stated in a separate assertion.
“On the deliberation and approval of the Constitutional Convention (ConCon) Act, [providing for con-con delegation composition] yesterday chair Rodriguez additionally stated that “Once the constitutional convention is convened, it has constituent plenary power.” In brief, it should even be empowered to entertain political amendments,” Castro added.
Proponents of the financial constitution change, together with Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte, have argued that financial provisions of the 1987 Constitution proscribing overseas possession of assorted industries, together with land, must be eased to permit extra overseas capital to come back in and generate investments and consequently, jobs.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
