Business leader says Cha-cha to stop Pinoy diaspora

Unless economic reforms in the 1987 Constitution are carried out, problems confronting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world will continue to recur, a top business leader said over the weekend.

Francis Chua, president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI), said millions of Filipino migrant workers around the world might suffer the fate of 30,000 OFWs now caught in the crossfire in Lebanon in case international conflicts like these happen in the future.

Without political and economic reforms in the Charter, the government will not be able to generate jobs and fail to convince OFWs to return to the Philippines for good, Chua noted.

He said the outdated economic provisions in the Constitution have discouraged foreign participation in capital-intensive industries and thus, limited the creation of quality, better-paying local jobs and forced millions of desperate Filipinos to seek greener pastures abroad.

"The bottom line here is that our local capital is not enough to create the jobs we need to keep our OFWs at home and out of harm’s way in foreign shores," said Chua, a former member of the 2005 Consultative Commission (Concom) on constitutional amendments.

The Arroyo administration is scurrying to evacuate remaining OFWs trapped in war-torn Lebanon. Two domestic workers have died while trying to escape their employers.

Chua said the Philippines continues to lag behind its more progressive neighbors in Asia that import manpower instead of export them because of a Constitution that is unfriendly to foreign investors.

Owing to slower investment growth and higher oil prices, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its economic growth target for the Philippines to 5.5 percent next year from an earlier projection of 5.6 percent.

IMF mission chief James Gordon said they opted to lower their growth projection for the Philippines to make it "more realistic."

While other Asian governments allow foreigners to own land and gain majority control of their various businesses, the Philippines restricts foreigners from owning businesses and investments here, Chua said.

He pointed out Filipinos need the assistance of foreign investors because they lack the capital to develop their businesses.

Unlike the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have opened up their economies to foreigners by making investments viable and profitable under their laws.

As a result, foreign investments in Malaysia had totaled $37.34 billion; Singapore ($34.94 billion) and Thailand ($33.09 billion) in a span of four years (1999-2003) compared to the Philippines which gained a measly $15.18 billion total in foreign investments during the same period, according to an Asian Development Bank study.

Chua said there is no basis to apprehensions that foreigners might control Filipino industries if economic provisions in the Constitution are amended.

He said laws are in place to protect the local business sector. In fact, he said the business sector welcomes the entry of overseas capital to help reinvigorate the economy.

Lawmakers chide ‘One Voice’

Two administration congressmen chided social and political reforms advocate One Voice for what they described as its "inconsistent" stand on Charter change (Cha-cha).

Representatives Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte and Rodolfo Antonino of Nueva Ecija were commenting on the statement of One Voice chairman Christian Monsod that his group is not against Cha-cha, but that the Constitution should be amended after President Arroyo’s term in 2010.

The two allies of Mrs. Arroyo could not seem to reconcile the two parts of Monsod’s statement, claiming there is "hypocrisy and inconsistency" in it.

"They should make up their mind. They cannot say that the present Constitution is okay and we should amend the Charter (after the President finishes her term) all at the same time," Mercado and Antonino said in a joint statement.

They said the "not now" stand of Monsod and his members is unacceptable.

"This is in line with their position that Cha-cha should take place only if President Arroyo resigns from office. This precondition for Cha-cha is totally absurd because they know pretty well that as a duly elected official, President Arroyo will have to finish her term. They cannot use the future of our country as hostage in their obsession to remove the President and grab power for themselves," they said.

Several civic-minded citizens led by Monsod formed One Voice more than a month ago to oppose Cha-cha at this time. According to Monsod and his colleagues, what the country needs now are genuine political and social reforms, including changes that would purify the election process beginning with the combined congressional and local elections in May next year.

Monsod was a member of the l986 Constitutional Commission that wrote the present Constitution. A One Voice colleague, lawyer Fely Aquino, was also a member of the commission.

Monsod served in the Commission on Elections as chairman. Another One Voice member who is former Comelec chairman is Alfredo Benipayo, who also served as solicitor general.

Administration congressmen are at their wit’s end in trying to figure out how they can resuscitate Cha-cha.

Last Wednesday, Majority Leader Prospero Nograles told a news conference that only a miracle could save Cha-cha, and that he was confident that his House boss, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., could soon produce it before it is too late.

"He’s the man. I am sure he can come up with a miracle," he said.

He said congressmen were racing against time and could work on Cha-cha only up to November, after which they would be busy in their districts preparing for the May 2007 elections. — With Jess Diaz