Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Uy favors amending the Constitution

CALBAYOG CITY – City Mayor Reynaldo Uy said he supports the move for amending the Constitution.
Mayor Uy, who is a former representative of Samar first district, said that there are some provisions in the present Constitution that should be amended like its economic provisions and the term of office of all elected officials.

Uy said that extending the term of office of all elective officials would ensure that they could provide better service to their constituents.

He also claims that the number of economic provision of the Constitution hampers the country’s economic development.

“Yes to Cha-cha because for a good elected government official three years is not enough, we need to have more time,” Mayor Uy.

The present term of elected officials, according to him, is too short for them to carry out all their intended programs and projects intended to their constitients.

Uy also said the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution should be amended as the strict restrictions of foreign business and property ownership in the country had put us at the tail end among our neighboring Asian countries. “We have to re-think and re-visit the ownership of lands and properties in the Philippines by foreigners if we are to embark on the massive invitation of foreign investors to put investment in the country,” Uy explained.

At present, based on the 1987 Constitution only allows Filipino citizens to own properties and businesses in the country.

“If want more flow of capital in our country, I think this provision in the Constitution should be amended to invite more foreign business investors to come,” Uy added.

The talks on Charter change was ignited anew when Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone proposed that any move to tinker the Constitution should now be started.

The first attempt to change he constitution was during the presidency of former President Fidel V. Ramos who sought to change the present system of government into a parliamentary form of government and lift the term limits of public officials.

Under former President Joseph Estrada, a similar attempt was also proposed with a process called CONCORD or Constitutional Correction and Developent proposing for amending the restrictive economic prvisions of the Constitution that is seen as impeding to the entry of more foreign investors in the country.

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also sought for Cha-cha only to met strong resistance from various sectors. (Roel Amazona)

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