CanCham expresses support for RBH1

A TOP official of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham) reiterated the call for the Philippine Government to amend some economic provisions of the Constitution, saying this is a must if it wants to attract more foreign investments, not just from Canada.

“Investors are not specific of the outcome of elections. What they are more concerned (about) are the policies or regulations that can affect investments,” said CanCham Philippine president Julian Payne yesterday.

He noted that while there would generally be a pause among investors during a looming election, investors pay attention to platforms and opinions of candidates on specific issues, such as mining and foreign restrictions.

The country’s impressive growth in the past years has put itself on the radar among foreign investors. However, Payne said that the challenge of the Philippines to boost its foreign direct investments (FDI) is to rethink its restrictive policies when it comes to foreign investments.

“You’ve got plenty of restrictions than other countries,” he said.

Payne said easing foreign restrictions would open up more opportunities, especially lucrative Canadian industries like mining.

CanCham is one of the foreign chambers that strongly expressed support for Resolution of Both Houses 1 (RBH1) to ease foreign restrictions.

Last month, 13 Philippine business groups and foreign chambers of commerce stated their strong support for RBH1, which proposes amendments to economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, particularly Articles XII (national economy and patrimony), XIV (education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports) and XVI (general provisions). It is principally authored by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

RBH1 has been approved on second reading in the plenary but the third reading vote requires approval of three-fourths of the members of the House. Speaker Belmonte has placed passage of the resolution among his highest legislative priorities during the recently resumed House session.

The group said easing foreign investment restrictions may also be critical in light of the country’s commitments to the ASEAN Economic Community, and its aspiration to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and forge an advanced free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union.

The group also said that attracting massive amounts of foreign investments is among the best ways to create employment opportunities.

“There is no better time than now to begin the process of updating the outdated restrictions in our Constitution through RBH1. The Philippines has enjoyed enhanced economic prospects and is on the radar screen of the international investment community—and these will be further improved by higher foreign investments,” the joint statement said.

Sought for comment, Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph believes it is also equally important to create a better environment for business and improve infrastructure, aside from easing foreign restrictions.

“Yes, (I am in favor of amending certain economic provisions), but parallel to that, we need to be creating better and consistent environments for investments. There are countries with more restrictive laws than us but have attracted more investments,” said Joseph.

“This (amendment) will help attract investments, but it is not the only issue. Ease of doing business is a major issue as well, as well as the lack of efficient and effective infrastructure. The judicial system is also an issue to investors, as it is perceived as detrimental to the rights of minority or foreign shareholders,” he added.

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