The pitch for economic cha-cha | The Exchange - video Dailymotion

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Your business is our business. Join our senior anchor Rico Hizon on The Exchange.  The push for economic charter change is not new. But will it finally see the light of day as the Marcos administration wants to further open up the country to more foreign investors?  Lets have an Exchange with business and commercial law professor Antonio Ligon.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 From news and views, issues and opportunities, we'll have in-depth conversations with decision-makers

00:06 to find out what they know and what they think.

00:10 I'm Rico Gizon inviting you to join the exchange because your business is our business.

00:19 One step forward, two steps back.

00:23 Talks on charter change are front and center yet again, and the proposed amendments focus

00:28 on economic provisions, including opening up land ownership to foreigners.

00:33 What are the stakes and how urgent is it to introduce changes?

00:39 While loss of east, foreign ownership in some sectors, what more needs to be done?

00:44 And should the economic provisions be changed?

00:47 What happens next?

00:48 The push for economic charter change is not new, but will it finally see the light of

01:04 day as the Marcos administration wants to further open up the country to more foreign

01:08 investors?

01:09 Let's now have an exchange with business and commercial law professor Antonio Ligon.

01:14 Sir, thank you so much for joining us.

01:16 So is there a need for an economic cha-cha?

01:19 Well, as we have discussed the last time, I don't see any change in the constitution

01:26 right now.

01:27 In fact, there are so many provisions in the constitution like the dynasty provision, which

01:31 has not been acted upon for so long.

01:35 And now you're going into this economic provision, and as I've said, and as the studies show

01:41 also, these investors are not requiring the change in the constitution.

01:47 They're more for ease of doing business, transparency, and of course, good governance.

01:54 And the economic provision entails land ownership, 100% foreign owned, but we have already made

02:05 some amendments with regard to the Foreign Investment Act.

02:09 And this does not change the constitution.

02:13 So you're saying then that this economic cha-cha, if it does materialize, will not really benefit

02:22 the ordinary Filipino people and be a threat to Filipino businesses?

02:26 I don't see any threat to the businesses.

02:29 I don't see any also drastic improvement on the lives of the Filipino people.

02:36 What we have to improve is of course our way of governance.

02:43 And as a practicing lawyer, we can see that even domestic businessmen or local businessmen,

02:51 they have a hard time opening up a business because there's so many red tape.

02:57 And of course, when President Marcos talked about potentially economic provisions in charter

03:04 change, he established boundaries on which sectors should not be opened up to foreign

03:08 investors like land.

03:10 So does this allay fears of those against economic cha-cha?

03:15 That is a good and a positive statement when you say you will not touch the ownership of

03:21 lands because studies show that there is no direct correlation between 100% land ownership

03:28 and investor coming in.

03:31 And you know what, Mr. Digon, this change in the Constitution has been talked about

03:40 administration after administration to regulate economic sectors that can be opened up to

03:46 foreign investors.

03:48 But why hasn't it really succeeded?

03:50 Well, because of the process.

03:52 You know, there is a three-way procedure to amend the Constitution.

03:59 Now what they're doing right now is through people's initiative.

04:04 But the question is, is that the real people's initiative?

04:08 That the people are clamoring for these changes?

04:11 What is happening is the people are being used, the numbers are being used to say that,

04:16 "Hey, we want this change in the Constitution."

04:20 And as we said, the first question there is, do the people really understand what is to

04:25 be changed?

04:26 But do really people understand, do our Kababayans really understand what economic provisions

04:31 are?

04:32 Or as simple as, do they really understand what's inside the Constitution?

04:36 I told you, those in college will answer no to that, because you really have to discuss

04:43 it well.

04:44 And when you go down to the people, you have to discuss this provision in the vernacular

04:49 and you have to explain it to them before they can make an intelligent decision on the

04:55 matter.

04:56 I mean, the Public Service Act, which is basically what is being held in by senators

05:03 if they indeed will study the economic provisions, has already been amended by the previous administration.

05:10 So what is there still to change?

05:13 And not only that, in the manufacturing sector, you are allowed 100% foreign ownership.

05:19 Now I don't know if that economic provision will also include the ownership in schools.

05:25 No.

05:26 Because there are some schools of thought that they would say 100% ownership in running

05:32 the educational institution.

05:35 Of course, even students would say no, because otherwise you will really change the parameters

05:40 of our educational system.

05:42 But if you were part of this charter change group, and economic provisions is just what

05:52 will be focused on, what would you change?

05:56 Well, I would change the, we will implement the improvement or the ease of doing business.

06:05 And of course, instead of having the different structure or unit of government to have their

06:10 own requirements, let's have one stop shop, one requirement for all.

06:15 And that will include already what is the suggestion of the barangay, the municipality,

06:21 the cities, the provinces, and the like.

06:24 So you don't have this procedure wherein you go to the barangay for the clearance, you

06:28 go to the municipality, and then of course the national government's requirement.

06:33 Now they will say there is this one stop shop and the anti-red tape.

06:37 Then we have to streamline and we have to really see that in action.

06:40 But that has always been a discussion for many decades, anti-red tape, ease of doing

06:46 business.

06:47 Yes.

06:48 Why are we not succeeding?

06:49 It's more of the political will also.

06:55 And while it's just like those invitations to investors, when you go and showcase the

07:06 Philippines, many will pledge.

07:08 But once they experience, let's say, because when they pledge, it's not necessarily mean

07:13 that they will invest in the Philippines.

07:15 It's just a pledge.

07:16 But let's say when they engage local lawyers or accountants to do these things, they will

07:26 realize that it's not that easy.

07:29 So attorney, what is your prognosis right now?

07:31 Because there's a lot of noise among lawmakers, among politicians.

07:37 The Senate is not for the people's initiative while the lower house is.

07:42 And then of course, the lower house wants these economic provisions in place before

07:47 the state of the nation address of the president.

07:51 What is your outlook?

07:52 Will it happen in 2024?

07:54 Because here in our country, everything is political.

07:59 And I'm not a political analyst or an expert on that matter.

08:06 But I would say this, as long as the two houses will support the president's declaration that

08:14 we have to change the economic provision because we want to be up at par with world standard.

08:25 More liberalized.

08:26 Yeah, more liberalized.

08:28 And that has to be clarified also.

08:30 I think it's doable because as I've said, the politics will come into play.

08:37 The lower house will have to agree with the Senate's suggestion that instead of the people's

08:42 initiative, let's have a suggestion wherein the two houses will suggest and vote for the

08:49 changes.

08:50 And on a scale of one to ten, one, this economic provision charter change will fail, ten, it

08:58 will succeed.

08:59 Where are you?

09:00 While I'm always optimistic about things with this charter change, I'm on probably between

09:09 five and six.

09:10 Neutral.

09:11 Neither here nor there.

09:12 We still do not know what is likely to materialize.

09:16 Thank you so much for this Economic Cha-Cha Exchange, Business and Commercial Law Professor

09:22 Antonio Ligon.

09:23 Thank you so much.

09:25 Here now are the week's top business stories.

09:27 Finance Secretary Ralph Recto won't raise taxes this year citing high prices.

09:31 His predecessor Ben Giochno proposed increasing taxes for junk food and sweetened beverages.

09:37 The Bank of Central says it is unlikely to cut the cost of borrowing in next month's

09:41 Monetary Board meeting.

09:43 And the U.S. economy grew much faster than expected last year to two and a half percent.

09:49 And straight ahead on the Exchange where your business is our business.

09:53 You get the insights of a constitutional law expert on this latest push to amend economic

09:58 provisions in the Constitution.

10:00 Edwin LaCherda joins us next.

10:02 And our foreign chambers among those who want economic charter change, we have an exchange

10:08 with the American Chamber of Commerce right here on CNN Philippines.

10:13 News you can use.

10:14 News you can trust.

10:15 [Music]

10:27 you

The pitch for economic cha-cha | The Exchange

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