Senate Building (File photo)
MANILA – The subcommittee under the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes chaired by Senator Sonny Angara will continue deeper discussions on the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 in the coming weeks.
During the Kapihan sa Senado on Thursday, Angara said the next sessions would focus on the proposed amendments in the three economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution: Section 11 of Article XII or the National Patrimony and Economy; Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV or the Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports; and Paragraph 2, Section 11 of Article XVI or the General Provisions.
Amending these specific provisions is seen to remove the restrictions on foreign direct investments in the country's public utilities, education, and advertising industries.
On public utilities, Angara said the discussions would just be a "reiteration" of the Public Services Act which was already discussed towards the end of the Duterte administration and was already passed into law.
"We will just reiterate what is there and give the flexibility, kasi ang isa sa magandang lumabas dun sa hearing, isa tayo sa iilang bansa lang na naglalagay ng economic restrictions or policies sa Saligang Batas (because one of the findings during the hearing is that we are one of the few countries that have economic restrictions or policies in our Constitution)," Angara explained saying this made the country "inflexible" against the changing world economy.
"Yung ibang bansa nagpapasa lang ng batas o polisiya. Eh tayo mag-aamyenda pa ng Saligang Batas (Other countries just pass a law or policy, while we have to amend the Constitution) to adjust to economic trends worldwide," he added.
Angara said the subcommittee would also allot a session to discuss higher education.
"Kailan siguro klaruhin yung RBH 6 yung wording niya about educational institution. Klaruhin namin na hindi namin nais buksan yung basic education, dahil meron na tayong polisiya diyan, kasi meron na tayong (Maybe it should be clarified in the wordings of RBH 6 about educational institution. We will make it clear that we do not want to touch basic education because we already have a policy about that, because we have) international schools. They are allowed to operate here but still subject to the regulation of the Department of Education," the lawmaker noted.
One of the discussions, Angara said, would be on how to give Filipinos the option to acquire joint degrees by allowing prestigious foreign colleges and universities to operate in the country.
"Sa Singapore, merong joint degree offered by the National University of Singapore and Harvard or Yale. So, biro mo, two-in-one yung degree ng anak natin, di ba? Ang binabayad mo isang tuition pero ang degree niya (In Singapore, there is a joint degree offered by National University of Singapore and Harvard or Yale. Imagine, our children will have a two-in-one degree, right? You will pay one tuition but the degree) is accredited by two international institutions," he said.
Angara said the next public hearing is scheduled for Monday. (PNA)
