MANILA, Philippines – Vice presidential aspirants Antonio Trillanes IV and Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Monday, March 14, said they favored lifting provisions in the constitution that limit foreign business ownership.

The incumbent senators, together with other bets Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr and Representative Leni Robredo, were asked during the “Go Negosyo Meet the Vice Presidentiables” forum if they were “willing to lift” the restrictive economic provisions in the constitution.

Trillanes said he is open to it because he believes they hinder the entry of foreign direct investments in the country. But the soldier-turned-lawmaker also stuck to his platform, which is to improve the peace and order situation in the country.

“I’ve maintained that even if you remove that from the constitution, as long as there is war in Mindanao and kidnapping in Metro Manila, no foreign investment will enter,” the independent candidate told business leaders in a mix of English and Filipino.

Escudero, for his part, said he is also willing to ease limits on foreign ownership but only as a last resort.

“Ayon sa survey, ‘di ito ang pangunahing dahilan bakit di dito pumapasok ang mga namumuhunan. Pangunahin unstable policies, pangalawa, panghihimasok ng korte, pangatlo, kakulangan ng infrastructure. ‘Yun ang mas nais nating tugunan,” he said.

(Based on a survey, this is not the primary reason why foreign investments aren’t coming in. The primary reasons are: first, unstable policies, second, court intervention, third, lack of infrastructure. Those are the things we need to address.)

In the end, the senator said he is open to allowing foreigners to own businesses but not land properties. He also proposed the idea of foreign media ownership in the country.

“Katulad marahil ng media. Nasa loob ng kwarto ko ang CNN at BBC, ni ‘di ko alam sinong may-ari at baka walang Pilipino. Hanggang ngayon sa constitution isandaang porsyento pa rin ‘yun, dapat baguhin ‘yun,” he said. (Like the media for example. Inside my room is CNN and BBC but I don’t even know who their owners are, and maybe there are no Filipinos. Until now the constitution limits 100% of media ownership to Filipinos, we need to change that.)

Marcos and Robredo, on the other hand, both stood firm on keeping the original restrictions, arguing that foreign land ownership is not the primary cause of pale foreign investments.

“Ang kakulangan ng kuryente, ang pagmamahal ng kuryente ang ating mga financial institutions ay unstable, ‘yan ang dapat nating [solusyunan],” said Marcos. (Power shortage, high-cost of electicity, unstable financial institutions, those are the things we need to address.)

Robredo echoed Marcos’ sentiment and added that corruption in government, lack of ease in doing business, and poor infrastructure and communication keep foreign investors away.

Helping MSMEs

The candidates were also asked about their proposals on empowering macro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which comprise 99.6% of total companies in the country.

Robredo talked about two Ms: money and market links. She said government banks like Landbank and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) should be more active in lending money to start up businesses at low interest rates.

The lawmaker from Bicol also said government should help ensure that these small entrepreneurs have a clientele. She likened it to her women entrepreneurs in Naga City whose primary market is government.

Marcos remained consistent with his program of government that aims to strengthen the economy by providing better funding for public works and infrastructure. He said there is no need for additional policies but better implementation of the existing ones.

Trillanes, for his part, underscored the need to run after erring local executives who abuse their power to control business ventures in their localities. He said that the Go Negosyo Act must be implemented, where local government units must issue a “presumptive” or “immediate” approval to starting ventures.

For these businesses to thrive, Trillanes said that the public’s purchasing power must be strengthened by lowering income taxes and increasing the salary of government employees.

In terms of ease of doing business, Escudero said there should be a focus on increased spending for faster Internet connection to prevent “human intervention,” which, in effect, will limit under-the-table negotiations. 

Only 4 “vice presidentiables” out of 6 attended the forum. Vice President Jejomar Binay’s running mate, Senator Gringo Honasan and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s partner, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano missed the forum. Monday’s event was the first vice presidential forum within the election period.

On April 20, bets will again come face-to-face in the Commission on Elections’ official vice presidential debate. – Rappler.com