It seems that formal political hostilities would start on July 27. If people think that these things would come to a definitive end after Mrs. Arroyo's SONA, they better prepare for a surprise.
Why?
This early, Nograles already gave us a sneak peek into what Congress would be discussing after the SONA. Nograles said, he'll be pushing for the passage of his baby, House Resolution 747. Unknown to many, this resolution aims to change one of the most contentious economic provision of the Constitution---on foreign ownership of land. Nograles thinks that even those in the opposition favor this amendment since this would lift the nationalist provision of the 1987 Constitution and opens all lands to
HR 747 is more dangerous than HR 1106 because it would provide two things for those big landlords out there---(1) an escape from the implementation of agrarian reform law and (2) a "big killing" opportunity for real estate developers. Nograles thinks that this law would help us but it's the other way around. Why?
The law would surely deprive us of the chance to enjoy the utilisation and exploitation of our own natural resources. In a fast globalizing world, land is one of the biggest capital and the most sought after commodity. The framers of our Constitution recognize the importance of protecting our natural resources from foreign exploitation. That's why they actually put that provision there in the first place. And here comes Nograles trying to pull a fast one with this.
Imagine the entire reclaimed area fronting Manila Bay under foreign ownership. You really can't call the New Nayong Pilipino, Filipino right, since that would probably be either American or Korean owned. How about those mineral rich mountains and valleys? How would you then exploit them when foreigners own them already? Or those rich oil fields in Mindanao? Or our gold mines?
The way to convince foreign investors to stay is simply give them the best reason to do so and it's through equal protection and application of laws. Give them better governance. Ease some restrictions in terms of business processes. But, giving them land? You wish. They'll not stay just because they own land. They'll stay because it's the best business decision for them to do so.
1 comment:
'But, giving them land?'
You should stick to writing about Piolo Pascual.
Nobody would be given land. It would be bought for a fair price. As most Filipinos don't own land, and most of the land is owned by priviledged few through legitime succession anyway.
As a small foreign investor here in the provences, I am employing 12 people (8 who had not worked in the previous 2 years). These people's lifestyles have transformed from going hungry to being able to feed themselves and their families. This is typical in Visayan provincial areas.
Mr Nograles is on a different Visayan island than I, but it's obvious he knows what is going on in The real Philippines. Those sitting in leather clad seats in Manila offices just don't know (and most don't want to know).
All the time The Philippines is going down the ladder in wealth compared to our SE Asian neighbours.
I was able to start my business because akong asawa is Filipina, and we bought the land (3,000sqM) when we moved here from Europe. Most would be investors are not as privileged as I in this respect.
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