The proposed amendment in the Constitution seeking to allow the foreign corporations to own land will legitimize the all-out and ongoing exploitation and plunder by foreign corporations of the country’s natural resources.
BY IBON FOUNDATION
Posted by Bulatlat
The proposed amendment in the Constitution seeking to allow the foreign corporations to own land will legitimize the all-out and ongoing exploitation and plunder by foreign corporations of the country’s natural resources.
Among the various amendments that Charter change (Cha-cha) proponents are pushing for is the removal of so-called restrictive provisions in the constitution, including the proposal to dismantle the 40-percent foreign ownership restriction of public lands.
This proposal aims to amend Art. XII, Secs. 2 and 3 which say that the state should fully control public land and natural resources and may enter into production sharing agreements as long as Filipinos own 60 percent of the capital.
As it is, this constitutional provision has not effectively restricted full foreign control over the Philippines’ strategic natural resources like minerals and petroleum. For example, mining agreements as of January 2008 have reached a total of 294, covering approximately 600,000 hectares of highly mineralized lands around the country.
Another case is the Malampaya oil field, which is under a service contract with oil giants Shell and Chevron. Instead of Filipinos benefiting from its crude reserves, Malampaya has been exporting billions of dollars worth of crude oil since 2001, bringing immense profits for these giant oil firms.
This provision in the Constitution is important since it protects the state from entering into arrangements that would allow the abuse of resources by foreign corporations. Amending this provision and dismantling the restriction of foreign ownership of lands will only worsen the foreign plunder of our national resources and further undermine national interest.
Land, as well as our other natural resources, plays a strategic role in national economic development, environment, and way of life – and these resources should be effectively controlled by the state. Ultimately, the country’s economic sovereignty and potential for industrialization are at stake with Cha-cha. Posted byBulatlat.com
Listen NO TO FOREIGN LAND OWNERSHIP. NO TO FOREIGN PLUNDER OF PHILIPPINES NATURAL RESOURCES. OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE THE ONE TO TAKE CARE OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES AND BE DISTRIBUTED THE WEALTH AMONGST FILIPINOS.
To all politicians, teachers, all corrupt , non-corrupt, uneducated, non-educated please don't be agitated with this CHA_CHA change. before you throw all your frusrations at president Arroyo, we should ask Arroyo why we have to CHACHA, okay. we want to know what's in it not like too many speculations, rumors, gossip, name calling, making up stories against the fireher. we just don't know what's in it. before you enter the lava , make sure what else in it. don't just focus of the word CHACHA. look and see what's in it not go rallying, shouting, name calling at President Arroyo. i think what is best in Philippines is cooperation from all of us. we would ask the Malacanang why we we have to change our constitution and which one needs to be change? why we need to change it? does it benefits to us Filipinos? are they going to sell Philippines to foreign countries? Should our living standard in Philippines will be elevated or more worse than what we are? If Filipinos are rich in natural respurces why are we suffering? why are we still poor? If filipinos are hard working and they have this and they have that why are we still poor? if filipinos are mostly educated why we behave really bad to our own comradge? if Filipino are smart why we never had invented anything that is under our name? If we have billions of dillars from OFW remmittance why are still filipinos are poor? why? where did the money go? who are this people who are incharge in this ? why? why are we still poor? Look at china , they don't speak good English but yet they already been in outer space? why ? what happenned to Filipinos? see, look they said that Filipinos were the forst one who discovered this rice and I heard from Thailander people that because we Filipnos are money face that's why we are poor? I don't understand why we have to buy rice outside our country? why can't we our rice and sale to our co Filipionos for cheaper price? I don't understand why Filipinos are buying imported name signature when it's from Philippines?I don't understand that? the only solutions to this questions we have to ask the President why this all happennings. I understand that our previous Presidents were not doing good to our country. and also why too many non-actress Filipinos are in Philippines . they are not even born in Philippines? but yet they makes money? why? why politician when they have vacation time why they have to be outside our country? so our money is running away ? all celebrities in Philippines always go outside our country and have vacatiobns and when they ran out of money they come back and make money in Philippines again? and mostly poor people buys their bad image movies it doesn't help the image in our country? why? I don't understand why men in Philippines kept getting pregnant their girlfriend, wives or mistresses while they cannot afford to support their own families? why kiids in Philippines have own cellphone when there's nothing food on the table? i don't understand that? If there's no divorce in Philippines why are they so many illegitimate chidrenlds in our country? What happens to our Catholic leaders? why everything in our Philippines seems like screwed up? I guess it's time to change our constitutiosn? Yeah right it's a demoratic and free country ? look at us we are like an ants going nowhere? still poor, come on Filipinos, I think we should discuss this to our high ranking officials we don't blame everything on Arroyo because she is not the culprit here, I think we all Filipinos are responsible of what's going on in our country. we should stop blaming on Arroyo. we will solve this proplem one at a time and stop saying Filipinos never change and the corruption are always there. so please be cooperative let's ask them and we must listen to their own views why we have to change our constitutions. but one thing that I dis-agree having foreigners own a land in our small country, does doesn't help. we should ran after the corrupts politician, corrupt accountant, corrupt business people, ran after the underground business because it's not really fair to those people who pays taxes, so let's not worried about the CHACHA, let's must woory about corrupt people in our country because even if there's CHACHA people breaks the Law, so let's start telling and reporting to those who are corrupt. we will make our country one of the best no-corrupt in the whole wide world? hey what about family, they are corrupt too, not just people in politics, ? when they received money from their son or daughter in abroad they throw our moeny for drinking, smoking, partying, etc, ? I thinkl we should change our way of being Filipinos, I feel suffering too because I work har for money and nothing happenned to my money . they are stiil poor? okay let's do it slowly, we should relax and find out what's this CHACHA does to our country okay. just relax. calm down.