The House Committee of the Whole approved on Wednesday Resolution of Both Houses 7 (RBH 7), which seeks to amend the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

The committee voted to endorse the amendment proposals contained in Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7 after six days of hearings during which it heard the testimonies of scores of resource persons and experts, including former Cabinet members, former lawmakers, academics, Filipino educators and professionals based abroad, former Supreme Court justices, economists, and framers of the 1987 Constitution.

House members exchanged views with the experts and resource persons in the course of the Committee of the Whole House deliberations.

Deputy Majority Leader and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali "Boyet" Gonzales II, who was designated majority leader of the committee, moved for terminating the hearings.

He then presented a motion to approve RBH No. 7, which embodies the proposed amendments.

Shortly after, Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose "Mannix" M. Dalipe, who was presiding over the hearing, declared the resolution approved.

Dalipe, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga and Deputy Speaker David "Jay-jay" Suarez of Quezon, who are the principal authors of RBH No. 7, alternately presided over the six days of marathon hearings that started last February 26.

Before Dalipe declared the suspension of today’s Committee of the Whole House session, he thanked all experts and resource persons for sharing their time and expertise with the panel.

“I am sure that your valuable insights will be very helpful to the members of the House,” Dalipe said.

The committee approved its report and affirmed its vote on RBH No. 7.

During a news briefing this morning, Gonzales, the committee’s majority leader, said the House is scheduled to start plenary debates on the proposed amendments on Monday.

“We will target second-reading approval of RBH No. 7 next Wednesday,” he said.

He said the House is still going by its timeline of finally approving the amendment proposals before Congress goes on its Holy Week break on 23 March.

“I don’t know about the Senate,” he added.

Today’s resource persons included former senator Gregorio Honasan, former finance secretary Margarito Teves, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jesus Domingo, and Finance Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon.

RBH No. 7 is almost an exact reproduction of RBH No. 6, introduced in the Senate by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Edgardo Angara.

RBH No. 6 and RBH No. 7 are both entitled, “A Resolution of Both Houses of Congress proposing amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, particularly on Articles Xll, XlV and XVl.”

The proposed House and Senate changes are on the grant of legislative franchises to and ownership (60-40) of public utilities in Article Xll, ownership of basic educational facilities (60-40) in Article XlV and ownership of advertising firms (70-30) in Article XVl.

The suggested principal amendments are the insertion of the phrase, “unless otherwise provided by law,” which would empower Congress to lift or relax present economic restrictions in the nation’s basic law, and the addition of the qualifier “basic” in Article XlV.

RBH No. 7 and RBH No. 6 also restate the provision of the Constitution that Congress may propose amendments “upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members.”