By Junex Doronio

MANILA — It seems there’s no stopping for the Cha-Cha (charter change) train in 2024 as House Committee on Appropriations senior Vice-chairperson and Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo is determined to push for economic structural reforms including the amendments of the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

In a statement on Sunday, December 31, the last day of the year 2023, Quimbo said there is a consensus among economists and the business sector that the economic provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution should be liberalized.

“As our economy moves forward in 2024 and beyond, there is a growing consensus that reforms are needed in various areas to improve the state of our nation and to uplift the lives of the Filipino people,” Quimbo said.

However, she noted that amending the 1987 should address other issues, not just the economic concerns.

“Amending our Charter, however, must go hand in hand with addressing other critical issues: the cost of power, the traffic problem, enforcing contracts, reliable internet speeds, and the development of human capital,” Quimbo stressed.

The Marikina lawmaker proposed “a proper assessment (that) is necessary to determine the required reforms in the education and health sector.”

“The bottom line is we need to send a certain and predictable signal to the global investor community: the Philippines is ready, able, and willing to accept foreign direct investments,” Quimbo said.

Meanwhile, some political groups like the Diskarteng Pinoy in Region 7 called for the abolition of the Senate and the shift to a unicameral parliamentary system of government.

They argued that what the senators can do like crafting bills and conducting investigations in aid of legislation, the district representatives can also do as well, if not better, since they are in constant touch with their local constituents.

Unlike the congressmen who are contented in their old Batasan building in Quezon City, the senators will have a luxurious building in Bonifacio Global City with 86,000 square meters of floor space that will have four towers — six senators per tower apparently with 11 floors each — estimated to cost P10 billion.

(IAmigo/MNM)