LEADERS of the House of Representatives yesterday gave conflicting signals as to whether Charter change (Cha-cha) to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution is still possible in the remaining days of the Third Regular Session of the 15th Congress.

In an interview, Misamis Occidental Rep. Loreto Ocampos, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, maintained that only President Benigno Aquino’s decision certifying Cha-cha as a priority measure would make constitutional amendments possible.

“Malacañang should certify that Cha-cha is an urgent bill. Its position is not clear. Only a smoke signal, I need a clear marching order from them ,” said Ocampos referring to Malacañang’s openness to proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution as long as these “fit the reform agenda” of President Aquino. 

“We have no material time anymore for Cha-cha. The filing of candidates starts on October one. After that, everybody will be in the campaign mode. To raise Cha-cha now raises suspicion that term extension of incumbent officials is the hidden agenda,” Ocampos pointed out.

President Aquino has maintained his stand against introducing amendments to the 1987 Constitution as this may disrupt economic growth, but nevertheless expressed willingness to listen to the wisdom of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. 

Belmonte reiterated that the House of Representatives will be pushing for Cha-cha to hasten economic and social development in the country.

“When I talk about Cha-cha, I am only talking of [changing] the economic provisions because it is not difficult and complicated. We will look into it," said Belmonte.

In separate talks, Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe and Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino agreed that Cha-cha is a tall order and doing it is not as easy as the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“History has proven that Cha-cha is always a very divisive issue and we cannot afford to sow discord again in our political system after an emotionally draining impeachment process. Priority bills will again take a back seat as we again bicker on what to do with the economic provisions of our Constitution, besides, we can never have objective discussions on Cha-cha in an election year as politicians will always be prone to grandstanding in aid of re-election,” said Batocabe.

For his part, Antonino, president of the National Unity Party (NUP) which has 34 members in the House of Representatives, said: “I support the President that [pushing Cha-cha] may be distracting economic growth at this time, maybe after 2013, may be that is the right time.”

However, Batocabe added that “if the House and Senate can immediately reach a consensus on what to amend and what will be written, then Cha-cha will have no problem, it will then be submitted to our people for approval. But then, such scenario is more ideal than real.”

Some of the restrictive economic provisions cover only three areas of the economy that restrict the role of foreign direct investments: the ownership of land, the operation and ownership of public utilities, and the exploitation of natural resources.

The restrictions were introduced in the form of limitation in the ownership of corporations by allowing a 60-40 equity proportion for Filipino and foreign capital, respectively.  

It is best to amend the Constitution while President Aquino is in power since he has "no illusion" of extending his term, Sen. Edgardo Angara said yesterday.

“This is the perfect opportunity for a favorable constitutional change because we have a president who is truly not interested in extending his term,” Angara said.

He noted that Charter change has been rejected in the past administrations amid fears that the proponents of Cha-cha merely wanted to extend their term. "But now, the country can be assured that the President has no interest in staying in power for more than one term," Angara said.

“Our weak political structure is the root cause of our slow progress. We should amend the constitutional provisions that make us so highly bureaucratic,” Angara said in reaction to the plan of fellow legislators to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution.

The senator urged Congress to go beyond economic reforms and consider changing the political structure. “We have to empower the local government. We have to decentralize and transfer more control from the center, from Malacañang and Manila to the provinces. Our country will definitely grow,” he said.

Angara also urged political parties to take a stand on the Cha-cha issue in time for the midterm elections next year. “Until we have a genuine structural reform, we will not progress. It is high time to amend the Constitution in order for the Philippines to reach greater heights, in terms of economic and political growth,” he said.