AMENDING ECONOMIC PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION
NEEDED, SAYS ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today held that pushing of political and structural changes in the constitution, like change type of government, is in a bad timing, while proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the constitution were long overdue and should be pursued.

"The creation of a constituent assembly during these times is not a perfect idea, not a perfect time and not in the perfect atmosphere to discuss the important provisions of our constitution that will affect every Filipino," said Angara who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.

He added, "This move for amending the constitution has two issues. The first one involves the subject or which provisions will be modified. The second concerns the timing of the call for change. These two, however are inexplicably linked. As far as political and structural change is concerned, constitutional modifications at present is not urgent. It is the economic problem of the country that needs critical attention and should be prioritized by the government."

Angara explained that in every year that the amendment of economic provisions of the constitution are left unsettled, two to five million Filipinos drops below the poverty line, according to the calculations of economists. This means that many of our citizens are surviving on less than one dollar a day which is, in Philippine peso, less than one hundred pesos a day.

The senator suggested that it is about time we revise the economic provisions of the Constitution in order to open up our economy. In Asia, he said, the Philippines is perhaps the only country with a closed economy. He told that experience of our neighbors like China and South Korea will tell us that we can achieve faster economic development after we reverse this policy.

Moreover, "This is also a technical matter. It is between revision and amendment that are rather two different things. A revision entails the opening of the whole constitution while an amendment only covers certain specific changes in the charter. If it's only an amendment, I think our countrymen should not worry for the ground that it will open the whole constitution for provisions and will include a term-extension," Angara clarified.

And because this is a very critical topic for politicians, especially now that it seems that the campaign season has started, Senator Angara suggested that all concerned parties - the church, non-government organizations (NGOs) and electoral reform groups - should bring out their individual amendments to be debated by those who will run for the presidential post and challenge them to implement these changes in their first 100 days in office, if ever elected.

He furthered, "This move of the lower house is a very thin argument and unconstitutional. The Senate should not be left out by the House of Representatives in amending the highest law of the land."