3 presidential bets open to allowing foreign ownership of land

At least three presidential aspirants are open to amending the Constitution to allow foreign ownership of Philippine land. Among those who seek to remove the ban on foreign ownership of land are administration candidate Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumabayan), and former President Joseph Estrada. During a presidential forum held on Tuesday by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PPCI), Gordon and Teodoro agreed that the government should allow non-Filipinos to acquire residential areas in the country, while agricultural, mineral, timber, and forest lands must be reserved to Filipinos. However, they clarified that the low-cost housing must be protected to benefit the country’s citizens. At the same time, both hopefuls also agreed to allow foreigners to invest in education and foreign ownership of media establishments. "Anyone who wants to invest in education in this country should be welcomed because the content anyway is regulated by the state so you have adequate protections there," Teodoro said. "I want to be able to compete with anybody here in my own country besides tayo nga ang gustong pumunta sa kanila eh, (we’re the ones who want to live in their countries) therefore, we should be able to do that," Gordon said. According to Estrada, his stand was very similar to that of Teodoro and Gordon's. During his stint, he even created a commission that look into the said economic provision, Estrada said. "Parang nabasa nila yung study namin ah (It seems as if the others have read our studies)," he said in jest, which immediately drew laughter among the audience. Meanwhile, other presidential bets expressed various opinions. Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said should he win the May 10 elections, he would create a commission that would study the need for Charter reforms to avoid misconceptions that he is after amending the term limits. "A change in the Constitution is a disruptive force in your term," he said. Various sectors have thumbed down the earlier proposal of House Speaker Prospero Nograles to allow foreign ownership of land owing to speculations that Charter change was intended to extend the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Jesus is Lord Movement Eddie Villanueva, for his part, said he "against foreign interest," while Sen. Manuel Villar said he would leave it to the public to decide whether want to ease the said provision. "Sa ngayon hindi ko nakikita na constraint ang Constitution. Alam kong maraming pagbabagong pwedeng gawin pero hindi ako naniniwala na iyan ay napakahalaga para magawa natin ang gusto nating gawin," Villar said. (As of now, I don’t see the need to amend the Constitution as a constraint. I know that there are a lot of changes that need to be done but I don’t believe that these matters are important for us to be bothered about to purse these changes). - GMANews.TV