Marcos mulls cha-cha for easing capital flow
‘We’re just beginning to study because we keep talking about economic provisions that are getting in the way with some of the potential investors that we are trying to bring to the Philippines.’
Daily Tribune‘We’re just beginning to study because we keep talking about economic provisions that are getting in the way with some of the potential investors that we are trying to bring to the Philippines.’
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said his administration wants to study the potential economic roadblocks hindering foreign investment before making a decision on proposals to amend provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
In a media interview, Marcos acknowledged concerns raised by members of the House of Representatives who advocate constitutional changes to attract more investors.
However, the Chief Executive emphasized the need for a thorough analysis before proposing any concrete amendments.
"We're just beginning to study because we keep talking about economic provisions that are getting in the way with some of the potential investors that we are trying to bring to the Philippines," Marcos said.
Barriers to fresh capital
His focus, he said, is not on revising the Constitution itself, but on identifying specific barriers in existing laws derived from its economic provisions that discourage investment.
He also saw the need to weigh the "opportunity cost" of losing potential investors due to these legal hurdles.
"We'll see. That's why the study is really not about the Constitution. It's about what do we need to do — what do we need to change so that these potential investors will in fact come to the Philippines," Marcos added.
In an economic briefing in Iloilo City last Monday, Speaker Martin Romualdez said the Congress will make another pitch to amend the 1987 Constitution next year, focusing on its economic provisions.
The House of Representatives in March passed a bill seeking amendments to the 1987 Constitution through a constitutional convention.
A similar measure in the Senate only reached the committee level.