Grand Law Debate Wesley Sean D.

Co
The main issue of the debate was Let It Be Resolved That The Economic Provisions of
the 1987 Constitution Be Amended So As To Allow Liberalization of Economic Policies by Congress. UST
chose to debate in the negative side thus having USC to defend the affirmative side and support their
claim. The debate started with the first speaker of the affirmative side stating the necessity of Belmontes
resolution. He stated that the 16th Congress will prioritize amending the Charter to attract investments
and capital that will create more employment and reduce the incidence of poverty. Among the
provisions that the speaker believed were restrictive is the 60-40 percent limit on land ownership. He
was against the ban on 100 percent foreign ownership of industrial and commercial lands, media
organizations, telecommunications, public utilities, and medical and educational institutions. The first
speaker wants the passage of the resolution since it would grant the Congress the right to liberalize that
part of the Constitution if it deems necessary and that in the future, the Congress ha s the right to
inculcate changes in the Constitution and that they can legislate changes to function well for the
people.
The first speaker of the negative side then followed stating that he believes that the present
Constitution is enough and that every fear that the members of the opposing side seek to address have
been attained by our present Constitution without the need of amending it and that our Constitution
provides mechanisms/methods for us to run as an effective economy even if it has such limitations.
After this was the speech of the second speaker of the affirmative side who continued to
fervently express his ideals of the benefits of the resolution by pointing out the fact that Philippines has
become one of the best place for investments in the ASEAN region. With the economic restrictions as
declared in Article 12 Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution which stipulates that foreigners can have
ownership of land only if they belong to a corporation with sixty percent of whose capital ownership is
owned by Filipinos and forty percent owned by foreigners; we are risking the chance to be the top
destination for investments among the ASEAN countries. The third speaker of the affirmative side also
strengthened their stand by expressing their desire for a more flexible economic policy that would allow
Congress to adapt certain economic legislations that would entice and attract foreign investors to our
country. He repeatedly emphasized their desire for a constitution that would be more flexible to our
economic changes and realities.
The UST, negative side, second and third speakers also defended their stand strongly by stating
that despite the good intentions of the affirmative side, the practicability of the Belmontes resolution is
really low since a change in the constitution requires not only a large amount of time and effort but also
money. They are hesitant not only because the Philippines clearly cannot afford these large-scale changes
but also because the feasibility of the resolution has not been clearly tested out. The debate finally ended
with both sides expressing their earnest thoughts about the issue and in the end, it was the audiences
decision to decide which side to choose.
"Government should provide capital to local industries, agriculture, and businesses because we
cannot compete with transnational companies who have large capital and subsidies from their
governments," Colmenares said in a statement.
Committee Report No. 119 Pertaining to the Resolution of Both Houses No. 01 (Proposing
Amendments to Certain Economic Provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
Particularly on Articles XII, XIV and XVI) is now being circulated to the members of the panel for
signature.
House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. filed last year House Resolution No. 1, which seeks to
amend the following articles of the Constitution: Article II or the Declaration of State Principles and
Policies, Article XII on National Economy and Patrimony, and Article XVI which contains sections on
foreign ownership. It was approved by the House committee on constitutional amendments on March 3.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/359933/news/nation/majority-of-pinoys-unaware-of-cha-cha-move-in-congress-pulse-asia
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/82102/bilis-ng-cha-cha-charter-change-report-released-by-house-panel-on-constitutional-amendments