Legislated economic reforms

For the nth time, the amendment of the 1987 Constitution is the subject of spirited discussion in Congress. Those talks have an uncanny way of emerging whenever there is a change in administration.

The House of Representative recently approved a resolution calling for the convening of a constitutional convention (Con-con) that would amend the Constitution’s economic provisions.

That action drew mixed reactions from the Senate. Some senators said the amendments were not a priority, others said they could be done through a constituent assembly (Con-ass) which would be faster and less expensive.

Two of the country’s leading business organizations, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., had described the amendment process proposed by the House as costly and time-consuming.

They said the objectives of the proposed amendments could be attained through legislation or executive action.

To illustrate this point, they cited the laws passed during the Duterte administration that liberalized the rules on ownership of public utilities, foreign investments and retail trade.

The concerns raised by the business groups are valid in light of the country’s current adverse economic conditions.

The election of Con-con members and their deliberations could take from one to two years and require at least P19.5 billion to defray its operational expenses.

Besides, and this is what is causing some jitters, once convened, the Con-con becomes an independent political entity that can do anything it wants with the Constitution.

Although a Con-ass is less expensive because the present members of Congress can directly propose the amendments, it is unclear whether they have to vote separately or jointly on the matters brought before them.

In light of this ambiguity, the Supreme Court may have to step into the picture. Considering that issue’s significance (and the expected avalanche of filings from publicity-hungry lawyers), its resolution could take from six months to a year.

Since the political allies of President Marcos are in the majority in Congress, and with his power to break the legislative logjam by declaring the enactment of bills as urgent, the laws needed to spur economic growth can be quickly enacted.

In fact, some of the bills for that purpose had been approved by the House in the last session and are either pending consideration or have a counterpart measure in the Senate.

Those bills had undergone extensive hearings and so with some fine-tuning, assuming it is needed to address possible changes in the conditions to which they relate, they can be immediately enacted into law.

If those bills are insufficient, the government’s economic managers can propose new economic measures for the consideration of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council whose members include Senate President Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Judging from past experiences, legislative proposals that pass muster in the Ledac are quickly acted upon and approved by Congress.

As suggested by the business groups, executive action can be availed of to get the economy going or make the business climate in the Philippines more attractive to foreign investments.

That approach was skillfully used by former President Fidel Ramos during his administration which, economy-wise, was undoubtedly one of the best years of the country.

Through executive orders, he opened the telecommunications industry to new players that resulted in a boom in mobile communications, deregulated the air travel business to allow the operation of budget airlines, and decentralized the provisioning of water services in Metro Manila to enable two private companies to take on that basic human need.

But there is a significant caveat in taking this route. It requires a high level of legal and financial creativity or ability to think out of the box to accomplish its objective.

FVR’s action would be a tough act to follow. INQ

For comments, please send your email to “[email protected].”