PH lawmakers push constitutional...

which was adopted by the House which reads... 'with a vote of twothird of all its Members, voting separately, to call a Constitutional Convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the economic provisions' helped me sway to vote yes to this resolution."

He added that during plenary deliberations, "it came out [that] there is no clarity even in a constituent assembly on how the voting will be done."

Section 1, Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution states that any amendment to, or revision of, the constitution may be proposed by the Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members, or by a constitutional convention. Any amendment to, or revision of, the constitution under Sec. 1, Article XVII would be valid when ratified in a plebiscite.

Amendments to the Constitution may also be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least 12 percent of the number of registered voters, “of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein.” Amendments proposed through people’s initiative would be valid when ratified in a plebiscite.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez said the House aims to limit its Charter rewriting initiative to the “restrictive” economic provisions of the basic law “in the hope that the changes would pave the way for the country to attract more foreign investments.”

“We need additional investments that would create more job and income opportunities for our people. We need increased capital to sustain our economic growth momentum,” Romualdez said.

RBH 6 states that among the three modes of amending the Constitution, the calling for a con-con composed of appointed and elected delegates “would be the most transparent, exhaustive, democratic and least divisive means of implementing constitutional reforms”.

Under the resolution, the election of delegates will be held on Oct. 30, 2023 simultaneous with the village and youth council elections. g

Modern jeepney to retain iconic...

PAGE 1 received an endorsement from the Department of Transportation for inspection by the Department of Science and Technology.

“When we finish that, we will go into mass production,” Francisco said.

While the entrance of the electric Francisco jeepney is located on the right side, it still has the familiar emergency exit on the rear. Passengers will still be seated facing each other. Its capacity is 30 passengers since the new FMC-designed jeep can accommodate at least eight more people standing inside. It is also air conditioned, has CCTV cameras and is equipped with a machine for the automated fare collection system. It also has a ramp for persons with disabilities.

“It is like riding in a train,” said

Francisco. “We really have it all.”

The FMC will not only be building a PUV that is environmentally friendly, it will also be providing jobs for Filipinos. The factory for the electric Francisco jeep will be based in Camarines Norte and can turn out 20,000 jeepneys a year.

Francisco said it is not only the body of the electric Francisco jeepney that will be assembled at the factory. The electronic motor and all the parts, even the battery that was developed in Los Angeles, California, will be massproduced at the Camarines Norte economic zone.

“We have the best engineers and jeepney makers in the Philippines. They are all Pinoys so we do not need to import jeepneys, or should I say minibuses, because the modern

PUVs plying the streets now are just that, minibuses. They are not jeepneys. Ours is the real jeepney,” said Francisco.

He said the company is also discussing with jeepney operators the possibility of the company upgrading the existing jeepneys of those who cannot afford new units to make them PUVM compliant.

“We are not selling jeepneys, what we are selling are livelihoods. With the jeeps we sell, those who buy from us, the transport operators, must be able to make a living,” Francisco said.

He said he is optimistic that the government will support a locally designed and produced jeepney since “our politicians are all Filipinos who have, at one point in their lives, were able to ride a jeepney and have fond memories [of it].” g

Cooperation Agreement (Edca) would not only help address security concerns in the region but also bring “economic opportunities, jobs” to their host communities.

“As we strengthen our ability to work together, there are contracts that come with that, and the vast majority of those are going to Philippine businesses,” she said.

Washington and Manila have historically maintained strong economic ties, with over $33 billion a year in bilateral trade and $100 million a year in U.S. investments specifically in climate and energy.

‘Lots of promises’

But the 75-year alliance grew cold under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was openly hostile to the United States while welcoming Chinese support for his ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program. Nuland noted: “We’ve seen a lot of promises from Beijing, but how many of those promises have actually been converted to jobs, to climate investments that bring benefit to the people?… That’s part of what we’re working on right now.”

Among the earliest gains claimed by the Duterte administration in making a

State Undersecretary for Political photo by Grig Montegrande pivot to China was reported in October 2016, when the government secured $24 billion in investment and credit line pledges from Beijing during Duterte’s state visit. The pledges were said to be good for two million jobs to be generated in the next five years.

In April 2019, when Duterte visited China for the fourth time as president, the government reported $12.16 billion investment and trade deals with Chinese partners for energy, petrochemical, industrial park and infrastructure projects. A total of 19 business agreements were signed and were projected to create some 21,000 new jobs.

In January 2021, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said the Panhua Group, one of China’s top private enterprises, had invested $3.5 billion to build a steel plant intended to upgrade the country’s steel industry and create 10,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs.

In January 2023, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Malacañang said he secured $22.8-billion investment pledges during his three-day state visit to China, including $1.72 billion for agribusiness, $13.76 billion for renewable energy and $7.32 billion for strategic monitoring. g