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Listening to the pulse of the people: Senate President Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda encourages the people of Baguio City to express their opinions on Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 during its first public consultation outside Metro Manila. “This is the first of a series of out-of-town hearings. We would like to know if the proposed resolution would actually alleviate the condition in our country, how it will affect livelihood and local economy in the Cordillera Region as well as in Region 1,” Legarda said. The president pro-tempore urged the people to speak their mind so lawmakers could get the pulse of the people. “You need not agree (with the resolution). If you agree, well and good, but if you don’t, we want to know why. The process of legislation is far from perfect. We may be wrong. We may be including the wrong industries or the wrong sectors. There may be sensitivities, certain regions where it need not be liberalized. We would want to hear that (opinions) and be enlightened,” Legarda said Friday, May 17, 2024. She explained that RBH 6 would focus only on three issues – foreign ownership for public utilities, educational institutions, and the advertising industry. According to her, the 40-60 ownership in favor of Filipinos would remain for the distribution of electricity, transmission of electricity, petroleum and petroleum products, pipeline transmission systems, seaports, public utility vehicles, and water pipeline distribution system. “If and when there’s an approval of the Resolution of Both Houses, it does not already open the economy in certain sectors because there’s a provision which says ‘unless otherwise provided by law,’ meaning we still have to enact the pieces of legislation that will lead to that 100 percent allowing foreign ownership,” Legarda clarified. (Mark Pimentel/Senate PRIB)