Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. on Friday lauded President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s declaration of full support for the House of Representatives’ push for economic reform in the Constitution.
“Changing the language of the Charter’s restrictive economic provisions to enable the country to attract more foreign investments can be the legacy of PBBM (President Bongbong Marcos) and the 19th Congress,” he said.
This comes a day after President Marcos delivered a speech at the 56th anniversary of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), where he reiterated his support to ongoing discussions on Charter change, provided it is limited to the constitutional provisions.
Gonzales said the President’s declaration ignites hope among House members and those advocating constitutional reform that “we can finish this within the term of the President and this Congress.”
“Palaging DOA (dead on arrival) ang adbokasiyang into pagdating sa Senado. Ngayon, dahil sa full support ng Pangulong Marcos, ito ay buhay at sana’y matapos namin kaagad ang inaasahang reporma sa Saligang Batas para sa kapakanan ng bansa at ng ating mga kababayan,” he said.
(Cha-cha proposals are always DOA at the Senate. But now, because of the full support of the President, it is alive and now we hope to accomplish the expected constitutional reforms for the sake of the country and the betterment of the people)
Gonzales added that the House is not giving the Senate any deadline to finish deliberations on and pass Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri’s Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 (RBH 6).
“The Senate president has a self-imposed timeline – adopt the resolution, to quote him, ‘this quarter, before the Holy Week break.’ We are just going by that pronouncement,” the senior deputy speaker said.
Gonzales reiterated the assurance of Speaker Martin Romualdez that the House would quickly adopt RBH No. 6 as soon as it is sent to the lower chamber.
Romualdez also welcomed President Marcos’ statement that stressed the need and urgency for amending the Constitution’s “restrictive” economic provisions.
“The President made it clear that these provisions hinder the entry of foreign investments and the potential for faster and inclusive economic growth, which in turn could translate into a better life for every Filipino,” he said.
“We are happy that he also took note of our consistent advocacy in the House of Representatives for changing those restrictive provisions for more than three decades since the 8th Congress, or since 36-37 years ago,” Romualdez noted.
The Speaker also lauded the President’s assurance that his support for reform, to quote him, “extends to economic matters only…nothing more.”
“At the risk of being makulit (stubborn), we have been saying that we do not advocate any political amendment,” he said.