Lawmakers seek to amend ownership regulations on Constitution's economic provisions

MANILA, Philippines — A new resolution has been filed in both Houses of the 19th Congress on Monday, seeking to amend certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. 

Resolution of both Houses No. 6 asked the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Senate for the revision of Article 12 (Section 11), 14 (Paragraph 2, Section 4) and 16 (Paragraph 2 Section 11) of the Constitution, which stipulate that public services should exclusively be owned by Filipinos.

“This is to avert a constitutional crisis between the House of Representatives and the Senate,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who filed the resolution in the Senate, said in an interview with reporters on Monday.

Article 12, Section 11 of the Constitution limits ownership of public utility franchises to Filipino citizens and corporations, while Article 14, Section 4, Paragraph 2 specifies that educational institutions should have at least 60% of their capital owned by Filipino citizens.

Paragraph 2, Section 11, Article 16, meanwhile, states that 70% of the capital should be owned by Filipinos in the advertising industry. 

The said provisions of the Constitution, which the lawmakers seek to revise, are covered by the amendments of the Public Service Act (PSA). Zubiri said this has been assailed at the Supreme Court. 

Under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the new PSA that has been in effect since April 2023, full foreign ownership of “selected industries” is allowed. Before the approval of the law's amendments, on the other hand, foreigners are only allowed  40% ownership of some industries.

Apart from Zubiri, other senators who filed the resolution are Sens. Loren Legarda and Sonny Angara. 

The resolution was submitted amid the controversy surrounding an alleged signature-buying for a "people's initiative" aimed at revising the constitution, prompting some lawmakers to call for an investigation into the scheme in the HoR.

Prior to the filing of the resolution, Zubiri also told the reporters that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked the Senate to lead the review of the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. 

“The president agreed with us that the proposal was too divisive and asked