Sentaor Robin Padilla on Friday said it is high time to fine-tune the 1987 Constitution to include a shift to federalism and parliamentary form of government to give the people a just and humane society.
At the same time, the movie-actor turned politician urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to resume the bilateral talks with the People’s Republic of China (PROC) “to guarantee cooperation on oil and gas development in the West Philippine Sea.”
In another move, Padilla filed Senate Bill 229 seeking to suspend excise taxes on unleaded premium gas, regular gas and diesel oil, to address the effects of rising oil prices. Under the measure that seeks to amend Section 148 of the National Internal Revenue Code, the excise tax for fuel products will be automatically suspended if the average Dubai crude oil price based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) will reach or exceed US$80 per barrel in three months
“It is time to study federalism to undertake policy-making and legislative functions reflective of the concerns of our various geographical regions,” Padilla said.
He noted that a federal government would decentralize the concentration of immense government powers from a unitary system.
It will provide a long-term response to political and economic inequality, inequitable access to the delivery of goods and services, and undue distribution of government resources, Padilla said.
He added that a shift to a parliamentary system might provide political stability that would prevent an unconstitutional or divisive way of removing a head of government such as coup d’etat or “mob rule.
Padilla filed a resolution to review provisions in the Charter which he described were stumbling blocks to equitable economic growth.
“While sovereign Filipino people promulgated the Constitution in order to build a just and humane society, it is unfortunate that after 35 years from its effectivity, we have yet to attain a ‘just and humane society,’” Padilla’s resolution stated.
Padilla lamented that the country’s economic growth has been “largely centralized” in Metro Manila and its neighboring regions such as Central Luzon and Calabarzon, which accounted for 57 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, compared to 43 percent in the other 14 regions – from 2019 to 2021.
Padilla likewise pointed out it is time to revisit the economic provisions of the Constitution – particularly the restrictions on foreign equity in natural resources, public utilities, build-operate-transfer projects, and equity in mass media, among others.
Padilla expressed confidence that the Marcos administration has the opportunity to resume the bilateral talks with the PROC for purposes of cooperation in the WPS on gas and oil development without bargaining the sovereign rights of the Philippines on the disputed territories therein.
To address the problems triggered by skyrocketing prices of oil due to international developments such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said the Philippines and China must resume bilateral talks for cooperation on oil-gas development in the West Philippine Sea.
In his resolution, Padilla cited a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on oil and gas development between the Philippines and China forged on Nov. 20, 2018.
“The Philippines requires a long-term strategy to resolve its oil dependency from foreign sources as the country is vulnerable to the negative effect of the skyrocketing oil prices dictated by the world market’s reaction to the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” he added.
Padilla pointed out the Philippines and China understand that the MOU – which former Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. recently announced had been terminated – does not pose any negative impact to the Philippines’ claim to sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
“The parties further understand that the MOU shall not be prejudicial to ‘respective legal positions’ which ‘does not create rights or obligations under international or domestic law’ and as such, there is
no derogation of the Philippines’ assertion of its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
He also said execution of the MOU was a “valid exercise of the executive powers of the President” under Sec. 1, Art. VII of the Constitution.
Padilla added that Sec. 2 Art. XII of the Constitution allows the Philippines to “directly undertake to or enter into co-production, joint venture or production-sharing agreements on petroleum and other mineral oils and all forces of potential energy.”
“In view of the gains attained from the MOU where the GRP and PRC cooperated on the terms provided therein on the gas and oil development in the WPS, the new administration can further explore these common interests of cooperation to resolve the country’s oil dependency from foreign countries,” he added.