News Flash DTI watching Cha Cha on land ownership issue
DTI watching Cha Cha on land ownership issue
- Details
- Published on Friday, 03 August 2012 00:00
By A Web design Company
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is keenly watching what lawmakers may propose in amending the economic provisions of the Constitution particularly on land ownership.
The official said that “based on DTI’ experience, investors are not complaining about the lease term of 50 years plus 25 for foreigners since that is virtually a lifetime.”
He confessed to some “ambivalence,” saying the land ownership issue is not that critical for investors at the moment but only because the government has not opened it yet.
“We are only seeing our side but what if we open land ownership to foreigners? Will investors come in droves? We don’t know that because we have not tried it yet,” the official said.
But he advanced the opinion that should foreigners be allowed to own land here, there should be limits such as, for example the size in hectares and the exclusion from such provision of agricultural lands.
When sought comment, DTI Undersecretary for Trade and Investments Cristino Panlilio said charter change is good for investments especially if some industries are liberalized.
Expressing his department’s keen interest in the charter change debate, he said they at DTI take at face value the statements of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte that the proposed amendments would only be on the economic provisions.
“They (Enrile and Belmonte) are legacy-oriented , legacy-builders who want to be remembered for something,” the undersecretary said.
Panlilio added he was hopeful that this time around the cha cha would make headway since past attempts have failed.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima the other day said President Aquino has given the economic team two weeks to review the charter.
