By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Mincing no words, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Monday (22 April 2024) described a group of UP economists as “anti-poor” for opposing the initiative of the House of Representatives to amend the 37-year-old Constitution’s restrictive economic provisions.
“This group is anti-development, anti-employment, anti-economic progress, and anti-poor. They are trying to block economic Charter reforms which we believe will bring in more foreign direct investments (FDIs), which in turn will accelerate our country’s economic development, and create more jobs and income opportunities for our people,” Rodriguez said.
He noted that UP where he obtained his law degree is known as the bulwark of activism and academic freedom where progressive ideas also flourish.
“But its economists and other academicians should not find fault in every proposal from the government, including Congress. They should not oppose just for the sake of opposing,” Rodriguez lamented.
In a position paper, the UP economists said instead of proposing economic Charter amendments, lawmakers should attend to more important factors that affect FDIs, including infrastructure, connectivity, corruption, and the rule of law.
But the CDO lawmaker disagreed.
“I do not agree that the other ingredients for attracting investments are more important than removing foreign equity restrictions in the Charter. These limitations are the root cause of the reluctance of foreign businesses to invest in our country,” said Rodriguez, whose undergraduate degree is AB Economics at De La Salle University graduating summa cum laude.
He said economic constitutional amendment proposals and other factors affecting investments are not mutually exclusive and could be addressed together.
(el Amigo/MNM)
