'Con-Con' delegate backs 'Cha-cha'

NEW DELHI, India – A member of the 1986 constitutional convention who backed foreign ownership limits is now in favor of amending the charter but thinks that other issues should be addressed to enable the country to lure investments.

Wilfrido Villacorta, who represented the education sector in the convention, said amending the economic provisions of the charter would allow the Philippines to meet the demands of globalization.

“I plead guilty to having been one of those who supported the provision against foreign ownership,” Villacorta said on the sidelines of the Delhi Dialogue VI held here last Friday.

“But I have matured. I’ve been more exposed and I can appreciate the need to relax our constitution restrictions on foreign ownership because that’s what the times demand. Otherwise, we will suffer in comparison to many other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states or other countries,” he added.

Fresh efforts to amend the constitution are moving at the House of Representatives, with lawmakers planning to resume sessions on the matter after the Lenten break.

Leading the calls to amend the charter is Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, who has filed a resolution allowing Congress and the President to lift economic provisions of the constitution that limit foreign ownership of land and some businesses.

President Aquino, however, is opposed to amending the constitution, which was enacted during the term of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino. He cited the case of China, which managed to achieve a 10 percent growth for a decade even if it prohibits foreign ownership.

Villacorta, a former Philippine Ambassador to the ASEAN, said many countries that have managed to lure investments have more liberal rules and laws.

Limit corruption

He, however, believes that the constitution is not the main reason why the Philippines lags behind its neighbors on foreign investments.

“I don’t think the constitution is the best hindrance to foreign investments I think it’s more of the peace and order situation, red tape, cost of conducting business,” Villacorta said.

“We have to come up with provisions that will limit corruption, limit patronage and all the other things. It’s not just the foreign ownership issue that matters,” he added.

Villacorta said the public should elect those who would draft changes to the constitution, believing that charter change moves in Congress could raise suspicions.

“While I trust majority of our congressmen and senators, the people might have doubts. It must be free from any suspicion,” he said in Filipino.

Villacorta pointed out that while members of the 1986 constitutional convention were appointed by the late President Corazon Aquino, they were recommended by the sectors they represented.

“Right now, there is clamor for direct representation from different parts of the Philippines but they must be elected,” he said.

“I think we can trust our electoral process and our people. Our voters now are more intelligent than before.”

Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development showed that the Philippines’ foreign direct investment inflows for 2012 hit $2.797-billion, lower than that of its neighbors Singapore ($56.651-billion), Indonesia ($19.853-billion), Malaysia ($10.074-billion), Thailand ($8.607-billion) and Vietnam ($8.368).