100% foreign ownership of industries possible with Cha-cha, says Rep. Rodriguez

Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez said Wednesday that foreign ownership of industries can go as high as 100% should the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution be amended.

The lawmaker said this in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB when asked what will be the highest rate of ownership that could be provided to foreign businessmen if there will be a change in the Charter.

“To me, 100%. Gano'n na ngayon lahat ng mga Asian countries…Ang importante talaga diyan, they will provide employment to our people. I believe, ang land lang, sa lupa, ‘yan ang limited [ownership]… Puwede sila, but limited lang sa mga factory types for foreign investment to buy, tapos residential,” he said.

(For me, it’s 100%. All Asian countries are like that. What’s important is that this will provide employment to our people. I believe land [ownership] will be limited. They are allowed to [own land], but only for factory types for foreign investment to buy, and then residential.)

“Ang businessman would normally want to own the land that they put the factory for the purposes of security. They could also make use of that to be able to borrow from banks,” he added.

Rodriguez’s panel has conducted at least four hearings on pending Charter change proposals which range from seeking to ease restrictions on foreign ownership of industries and land to term extension of public officials.

However, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had said that Charter change is not a priority of his administration, pointing out that the administration's goals can be achieved under the present Constitution.

On the other hand, Senator Robin Padilla, Senate committee on constitutional amendments chairman, said that the pledges secured by Marcos during his foreign trips will not materialize if the economic provisions of the Constitution will not be amended.

Rodriguez backed this, saying that the Philippines has the “third most restrictive Constitution in the world.” He cited the 60-40 rule on foreign ownership of businesses.

“Even if the President goes around the world… ‘pag tinignan mo, okay sila, maganda ang presentation ng Presidente. But ang problema, ‘pag ito na ngang mga areas na ito [like] public utilities and natural resources, 40% [ownership] lamang [ang puwede sa foreign investors]. Sino naman ang mag-i-invest ng 40%? Wala siyang control,” he said.

(Even if the President goes around the world and even if his presentations were good, the problem is, when it comes to areas like public utilities and natural resources, foreign businessmen could only acquire 40%. Who would invest in 40%? They won't have much control.)

“We feel we need a constitutional change so that we can by law, be able to decide which areas should be 100% or 50%,” he added.

Rodriguez argued that even with this foreign ownership, Filipinos will not be at a disadvantage because more jobs will be made available for them.

He also said that the salary and benefits of Filipino employees will increase if their employer is foreign because they follow international standards.

Last year, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law amending the Public Service Act, allowing 100% foreign ownership of telecommunications, railways, and other public services. —KG, GMA Integrated News