Ex-CJ Puno: 'Unless otherwise provided by law' prone to challenge

Retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno on Monday told the lawmakers to just repeal the so-called restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, instead of adding the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law."

Puno made the proposal at the first hearing of the House committee of the whole hearing on Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 (RBH7) which seeks to relax restrictions on certain economic provisions of the charter by adding the said phrase. 

"The use of the phrase ‘unless otherwise provided by law’ is vulnerable to another constitutional challenge. Number one your Honors, allowing Congress to use its lawmaking powers to amend the Constitution may be questionable," he said.

"Number two, the laws that will be passed by Congress for this purpose will not be approved by the people in a proper referendum," he added.

The retired chief magistrate pointed out that under all Philippine constitutions, including the 1987 Constitution, proposed constitutional amendments have to be approved by the people.

"That approval by the people cannot be set aside, cannot be short-circuited. So again, these are some of the constitutional problems. But again, what is the way out? My respectful submission your Honors, is just to do away with this phrase ‘unless otherwise provided by law,'" he said.

"Just repeal these three restrictive provisions of the Constitution, which we want to be out. And in addition, you just repeal Article II Section 19 of the 1987 Constitution which states ‘the state shall develop a self-reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos,' include that in the repeal," he suggested.

If these provisions are repealed, Puno said Congress can enact all the necessary laws to attract foreign investments.

'In suspended animation'

Opposition lawmaker Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman made the same position, saying adding the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law" would only envision contingent legislation and it would put the people and the investors in "suspended animation."

"Why don't we be more concrete and precise? If you need more studies in order to determine the exact... ratio of foreign ownership, then why rush this resolution? Conduct first studies and the consultations," Lagman said.

"Because our people will have to wait for that contingent legislation even the investors will have to wait, because we will have to pass the law liberalizing the economic provisions. I don’t think that should be the proper way of doing things," he added.

He went on and said, "We are telling foreign investors that we are going to amend this but we are not telling them how much are we going to give them because we will have to wait for a contingent legislation. That is a problem."

Further, Lagman pointed out that the president, under the current process of amending the Constitution, is not in any way involved in charter change.

By adding such a phrase to the constitution, the President will now have the power to intervene on any proposed measure that will serve as an enabling law on certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, he said.

"If we adopt this, every mode of 'unless otherwise provided by law,' every bill will have to be referred to the president for his approval or veto and it will short circuit the people's ratification of the amendment because it is now only a law. This would entail many difficulties as well as problems," Lagman said.

Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, one of the lawmakers who support the amendments to the economic provision of the constitution, explained that this phrase is intended to introduce flexibility, remove economic policy-making away from the charter, and put it in legislation which she said is its "proper place."

"If we put it in the phrase 'unless otherwise provided by law,' tayo po sa Kongreso, we can change that. It is the change that we can study carefully in Congress, but there is an existing law while Congress can study the change," she said.

"So hindi po accurate na sabihin na in suspended animation ang tao kasi meron naman pong status quo which, for [example in] education, is zero until it will be changed by Congress," she added. —LDF, GMA Integrated News