Drilon: No need for Cha-cha; just amend retail trade liberalization law

Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon on Tuesday said there was no need to change the Constitution once Congress passed key economic measures such as the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

“The immediate passage of this law will remove the steam the powers that Cha-cha train in the House of Representatives,” Drilon said on Wednesday as Senate plenary discussed Senate Bill 1840 or the proposed amendments to Republic Act 8762.

The bill seeks to further relax foreign restrictions by removing investment categories and setting an across-the-board minimum paid up capital investment equivalent of $300,000 in Philippine peso.

“By amending the Foreign Investments Act (FIA), further relaxing retail trade restrictions and amending the public service law, the Philippines will generate up to $30 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) a year,” Drilon said.

“We are all bombarded with questions about the so-called economic charter change. Well, we do not need to be bothered by such talks because we can immediately better the investment climate,” Drilon said.

“The proposed Cha-cha simply seeks to add the phrase ‘unless otherwise provided by law’ to address the so-called economic provisions of the Constitution,” he said.

“What we need now to address the economic slowdown is a concrete solution through the enactment of various economic measures such as the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and the Public Service Act,” he added.

Drilon is the principal author of Senate Bill 1840, which is being sponsored by Senate committee on trade chair Senator Koko Pimentel.