Charter change discussions would be fair and transparent, according to Rep. Garbin.
Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. on Friday assured the public that the discussions on Charter change (Cha-cha) would be fair and transparent.
Garbin, the chairperson of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said in a statement that his committee would treat the proposed measure like any other bill that’s taken up in the plenary: “with fairness and transparency”.
The panel was looking into starting its Charter change hearings next week.
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According to Garbin, it would focus solely on the “restrictive” economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.
Meanwhile, in his statement, Garbin on Friday countered the remark of the spokesperson of Vice President Leni Robredo that now wasn’t the best time to discuss possible amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
“Vice President Leni Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez is wrong in saying that our efforts at amending economic provisions in our Constitution is a waste of our people’s time and money,” he said.
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According to Garbin, with the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the country’s economy, there’s a pressing need to amend the “restrictive economic provisions” of the 1987 Constitution.
These dated provisions, Garbin said, impeded the inflow of funds and investments crucial to enable them recover from the havoc brought upon by the public health crisis.
“And if we want to better position the Philippines, Charter change must happen now because our economy is still a long way from full recovery,” Garbin said.
The Philippines was set to conduct local and national elections on May 2022.
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