Even though some possible amendments to the 1987 Constitution was discussed during the Legislative Executive Development Council (LEDAC), Charter change remains not among the priorities of the government, President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday. Meeting the press after the LEDAC meeting, Aquino said Charter change is not yet ready for "prime time." "I think we just tackled that (Charter amendments) on a peripheral basis, slight discussions on the economic provisions of the Constitution. That is not yet ready for, as they said, prime time. We have to discuss particular details," the President said. The LEDAC meeting focused on the 13 measures Aquino wants Congress to prioritize. These were:
adequate protection and additional benefits for house helpers, expansion of science and technology scholarship programs, amendments to the Rural Electrification Law, sin tax or restructuring the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products, amendments to the Human Security Act, Data Privacy Act, responsible parenthood bill, reproductive health and population and development, expanded consumer protection, reorganization of the Philippine statistical system, amendments to the PTV-4 law, provision for the delineation of the specific forest limits of public domain, stiffer penalties for stealing and tampering with government risk reduction and preparedness equipment, and amendments to the Lina Law or the Urban Development Housing Act of 1992. Support for Cha-cha On Monday, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Panfilo Lacson and Jinggoy Estrada expressed support to the renewed calls to amend the 1987 Constitution particularly on the economic provisions to lure foreign investors. Trillanes said the shipping industry, for instance, should be liberalized so that marine vessels in the country may be upgraded. This would mean recasting the existing cabotage principle to develop the industry and attract investments, according to Trillanes. Cabotage refers to trade or navigation in coastal waters. Lacson said because the Philippines needs to do some catching up with its Southeast Asian neighbors, then globalization should prompt the changes particularly in the economic clauses. A specific "deterrent to investors" is the national patrimony law that limits the ownership of companies to foreign investors to only 40 per cent. But then, Lacson said, the ownership limit makes it prone to abuse as foreigners simply assign dummies to gain majority ownership of Philippine companies. Estrada, meanwhile, said the current political environment favors constitutional change, with the majority of Filipinos trusting President Aquino. Past attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution were marred with political motives, Estrada said, citing former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who was widely seen as pushing for Charter change to extend her term. — RSJ, GMA News 
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