Bad omen over ‘cha-cha’

By Herbert Vego

WHEN legislators act almost unanimously but without popular support from their constituents, there must be an “irresistible” force behind.  Whether through the constitutional convention (con-con), as proposed by the House of Representatives, or the constituent assembly (con-ass) preferable to a few members of the Senate, charter change (cha-cha) promises no better life to poor Juan dela Cruz.

Is there anything wrong with the present Constitution?

It is Congress that has done the 1987Constitution wrong due to a “sin of omission” or refusal to define a law against political dynasty. That “sin” is a violation of Article II, Section 26 of the prevailing Constitution that says, “The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”

By amending the Constitution either by themselves (con-ass) or through “robotized” con-con delegates, they could abolish the anti-dynasty provision and grant themselves longer terms and unlimited runs for the same or different positions.

Anyway, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt about their alleged reason behind their passion to do cha-cha – “to remove the restrictive economic provisions of the present Constitution.”

In other words, they would allow foreigners to own 100 percent of whatever businesses they engage in instead of a maximum 40% in joint ventures with 60% Filipino partners; and also, the privilege to buy land in the Philippines.

No less than Senate President Migz Zubiri, in a TV guesting, expressed fear over the possible avalanche of rich Chinese migrants coming to buy lands, edging out the natives.

I remember what Sen. Nancy Binay had said about 27,678 Chinese retirees now living in the Philippines in presumably rented homes.  They constitute more than one-third of 70,520 foreign retirees now living in the Philippines.

Based on a recent report from nikkei.com, 228 million people in China will retire over the next ten years. If you can imagine a tenth of them retiring in the Philippines to escape uncertainty under President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), you can imagine them turning domestic helpers out of our unemployed women – not in Hong Kong but right here in our  country.

Granting that a charter amendment would remove restrictive economic provisions “to allow foreign businesses to directly invest in a more conducive landscape” does not make sense. It is not conducive to well-off Filipino entrepreneurs who deserve the economic protectionism they ought to enjoy.

On the other hand, are foreign investors really aching to deal with the government of President Marcos, whose nine foreign trips have gained nothing but investment pledges? No, they are not keen on “gambling” their dollars in a country that shuns “foreign intervention” by the International Court of Justice (ICC).

Foreigners prefer to invest in safe and peaceful environments. The fact that Marcos now stands opposed to the ICC probe of extra-judicial killings and other crimes against human rights in six years of the Duterte presidency could drive away foreign investments.

Incidentally, are you aware that international garment manufacturer Levi’s closed its Makati City factory because of the entry of cheap copycats from China?

So, who stand to benefit from the proposed cha-cha?

Our greedy legislators, the rich Chinese, or both?

BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIR ROEL

“More power to you” has become a favorite greeting from one person to another.

We say it more appropriately to the president and chief executive officer of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), Roel Z. Castro, who celebrated his birthday the other day, April 1.

Castro had dreamed to be an agriculturist, having finished BS Agricultural Business at UP in Los Baños, Laguna. But fate intervened to catapult him to a more “electrifying” management position.

Why not? He had also earned a post-graduate course (Master in Management) at the Asian Institute of Management and attended the Advanced Management Program of the University of Asia and the Pacific, as well as the ISSE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain.

I remember seeing Mr. Castro for the first time in 2014 (if my memory serves me right) during the launching of the coal-fired power plant of Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC) in Barangay Nipa, Concepcion, Iloilo. The company had chosen him to be its president.

By then, he had already honed himself in the energy sector, having also served as special assistant to the president of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP); and president of Palm Thermal Consolidated Holdings Corp.

Under his watch, MORE Power has grown fast — from 62,000 customers when it took over the previous power utility in 2020 to 90,000 today.

With the trend now aching for cheaper renewable energy, expect Sir Roel to be there for us Ilonggos.