HOUSE Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairperson and Aklan 2nd District Rep. Teodorico Haresco, Jr. on Wednesday said adopting the economic amendments to the Constitution, particularly the removal of barriers to foreign ownership, will create about two million jobs and will sustain efforts of the Marcos administration to decrease unemployment rate.

“Removing economic restrictions to foreign investment in our Constitution is the lowest hanging fruit especially for an emerging economy like ours,” Haresco said.

Haresco cited the 2020 study of the UP Research and Extension Services Foundation-Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (UPPAF-RESPOND) stating that opening up the economy to foreign investors by amending restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution could generate 1.6 million jobs and could even double our FDI with about USD 16.2 billion (PhP 777 billion) added investment to our current USD 9.2 billion recorded in 2022.

Data presented by Haresco also showed the Philippines lagging behind its ASEAN neighbors, where it is the last in cumulative FDI inflows among the five biggest ASEAN economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand –from 2010 to 2020.

“We hold the highest foreign investment restrictions among the ASEAN-5 because of the limitations set in our Constitution and it’s also the reason why we cannot maximize foreign investments which could generate jobs and alleviate poverty,” the veteran economist-solon said.

Reports show that the top industries for foreign investments in ASEAN are: financial and insurance services (31.2%); manufacturing (23.7%); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (15.1%); transportation and storage (10.3%); and real estate activities (5.0%).

In December 2023, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s labor market experienced its lowest unemployment rate recorded in nearly two decades with only 3.1%. By January 2024, it rose again to 4.5%.

PSA reports that the services sector led in terms of number of employed persons with a share of 58.2 percent, agriculture sector with 23.8 percent, and industry with 18 percent.

“The fruits of our economic and fiscal policies in the past decade are almost ripe. It’s high time we remove the barriers so not only a few benefit. Our country must work together with the global community so we can reap these bountiful harvest and have the Filipino people and their families benefit from our labor of love,” Haresco added.

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Ryan Ponce Pacpaco