REACTION of Senator friends on this issue is, at best, described as lukewarm. They are not in the mood to indulge the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, on “raw proposals”, in what will be a circuitous and litigious process. 1) Adding “unless otherwise provided by law” in lifting constitutional prohibitions on foreign investors share-percentages in corporate managements. This could ease entry of foreign investments into sheltered sectors dominated by Filipinos including public and agricultural lands, education etc. In effect, the leverage of compromise and lobby in Congress may affect certain sensitive sectors originally protected by the Constitution. Entrusting to Legislators endangerment of our national patrimony, resources, etc. plus property prices sky-rocketing to the detriment of the average Filipino? 2) Election of President and VP as a team. A vote for the President is a vote for both. Hand-cuffs the people’s choices to either mandate a winning tandem from the same political party, or purposively elect un-allied individuals, in the additional feature of a “check and balance” between the two highest officials of the land. 3) Terms of LGU officials and Congressmen increased to five years. While three years is indeed too short for incumbency, the better proposal is to revert to the tried and tested four years with three allowable terms, or a total of 12 years. This will synchronize with the Senator’s six year-term with one re-election, or 12 years 4) Subtracting the number of Regions to 9. The Cebuano speaking majority in the Central Visayas (Cebu with a population expected to hit 3M) was removed from the proposed amendment. Clearly a serious error in judgement 5) Cutting the term of Senators from six to five years and increasing their number from 24 to 27, with three elected per Region. This will entail additional cost and diminution of the office. If the intention is fairness and equalizing representation, propose a Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao Senate, eight of each, with mandatory residence per said islands, but elected at large, maintaining the 24 senators.
