House eyes 2-step Cha-cha next year

The House of Representatives is eyeing a two-step Charter change (Cha-cha) effort early next year, a lawmaker said yesterday.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said the House and the Senate, convened as a constituent assembly (con-ass), would work first on changes to make the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) constitutionally compliant.

After that, con-ass would focus on the proposed amendments that would shift the nation to a federal system of government, Fariñas said.

“Amendments that involved the BBL will only be few, if ever, unlike federalism, which requires a revision,” he said.

Fariñas pointed out that there would be two sets of plebiscites for approval by the people of the proposed changes in the Constitution.

He added the plebiscite on the BBL-related amendments could be held together with the barangay elections, which Congress would postpone by one year to October 2019. The elections are set for October this year.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, a federalism advocate, welcomed the renewed push for Cha-cha that would shift the nation to the federal system.

Villafuerte said he hoped the Cha-cha effort would also include “a thorough study on easing constitutional restrictions on foreign investments, in support of the government’s high and inclusive growth agenda.”

“Federalism should be complemented by liberalizing foreign ownership in many sectors of our economy. Federalism and foreign investments will sustain the economy’s growth momentum and enable the government to put flesh into President Duterte’s vision to disperse growth and development to the regions,” he said.

Citing government data, Villafuerte noted that over the 2011-2015 period, the country attracted $20.4 billion in foreign direct investments, which he said was “a pittance” compared to Singapore’s $305.6 billion, Indonesia’s $107.6 billion, Malaysia’s $56.6 billion and Thailand’s $42 billion.