AN agricultural group is warning that proposed changes to the Constitution or Charter Change (Cha-cha) will expose 14.2 million hectares of alienable and disposable public lands to full foreign ownership, posing threats to farmers' livelihood.
"As if the 50-year allowable lease period to foreign investors stipulated in Republic Act 7652 or the Long-Term Lease of Private Lands by Foreign Investors is not enough, Marcos Jr.'s Cha-cha will allow full ownership of lands by foreign entities," Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) Chairman Danilo Ramos said on Monday.
He added that suggested revisions in the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, such as in Sections 2, 3, 7, 10 and 11 of Article XII; Section 4 of Article XIV; and Section 11 of Article XVI, all involved foreign ownership.
In addition to land ownership, Ramos said that proponents of the proposed Cha-cha contend that the Constitution's restrictive and protectionist clauses should be removed, allowing foreign enterprises to acquire complete ownership of private assets, congressional franchises, educational institutions, media outlets and essential public utilities.
"Marcos Jr.'s Cha-cha will only equate to the wanton plunder of our remaining land and natural resources," said Ramos.
Instead of focusing on land development to improve the local agriculture industry, he added, "Cha-cha will allow more foreign-owned extractive industries, logging, ecotourism, real estate projects, expansion of agro-corporation plantations, and other business operations intended for profit-making."
KMP added that 100 percent foreign ownership of lands would likely threaten farmers through land grabbing, opportunistic land purchases, land banking and land sales.
Ramos emphasized that this could lead to widespread displacement of farmers and Indigenous people, imposition of higher land rents, increased hardships for farmers, cessation of farming activities, land misuse, and the erosion of agricultural livelihoods.
"In general, the proposed Charter change threatens the overall food security and self-sufficiency, as well as the livelihoods of the Filipino people. It is anticipated to lead to widespread hunger, potential famines, loss of livelihoods, and an exacerbation of poverty," said Ramos.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez earlier said that the House of Representatives would study how to amend the Constitution to attract more foreign investments into the Philippines.
In December 2023, Romualdez said that revisiting the Constitution this year and easing its provisions limiting foreign ownership in certain industries in the Philippines was timely.
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