Speaker changes tune on Cha-cha, backs foreign long-term lease

MANILA, Philippines —  Manila may take the cue from Vietnam in terms of foreign direct investments, Speaker Martin Romualdez said, apparently taking a slightly different path on Charter change.

After being silent on the issue for a few months, Romualdez yesterday said he is in favor of allowing foreign investors to lease Philippine lands on a long-term basis.

“I’ll join Senate President Francis Escudero on his initiative here on the Foreign Investors Long-term Lease Law,” the leader of the 310-member House of Representatives told Teleradyo.

The Speaker’s stand is a deviation from the House-approved Resolution of Both Houses 7 (RBH 7), where prohibitive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution are eased in order to entice more foreign direct investments.

“This (long-term lease) is one step where we can hopefully attract foreign investors, where they no longer need to buy lands because we will be giving them a long-term lease contract on the lands they want to utilize,” Romualdez, fully aware of the delicate issue of foreign land ownership, explained.

“So, we will not sell the lands to foreigners. The foreign investors can have the long-term lease contract that may take as long as 50 years, plus another 40 years, and which may reach 99 years,” the administration stalwart said.

A lawyer by profession, Romualdez is president of the Philippine Constitution Association and heads the country’s most dominant political party Lakas-CMD.

During the Speaker’s June 13 first official meeting with Escudero following the change in Senate leadership after the ouster of Sen. Migz Zubiri, the two heads of both houses of Congress were silent on the issue of Charter change – RBH7 in the House and RBH6 in the Senate.

Among the issues they discussed in their closed-door meeting were pieces of legislation aimed at lowering the prices of rice.

In a statement, Romualdez – congressman of the first district of Leyte province – noted that a “key focus of the meeting was the amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law, identified as a top priority.”

“Amending the Rice Tariffication Law is a crucial step towards ensuring food security and economic stability for our farmers. We are committed to making quality rice affordable for all Filipinos while boosting the livelihoods of our local farmers,” the Speaker said.

The House leader, a first cousin of President Marcos, expressed confidence that with their meeting, all of the priority measures the administration wanted and have already been passed by the House will eventually be passed and signed into law.

“This meeting symbolizes a renewed and reinvigorated partnership between the House and the Senate under the leadership of SP Escudero,” the Speaker said. “Together, we are committed to working hand-in-hand to pass key legislation that will significantly benefit the Filipino people.”

According to Romualdez, their collaboration is “crucial for the early approval of these priority measures, ensuring swift and effective implementation.”

“Our joint efforts with the Senate reflect our collective resolve to push forward the President’s priority measures,” the Speaker said as they initially discussed the legislative calendar for the 3rd Regular Session of the 19th Congress (2022-2025).