Estrada seeks for end to row over constitution

Estrada seeks for end to row over constitution

MANILA (Agencies): Philippine President Joseph Estrada appealed to his critics on Tuesday to set aside their opposition to his proposal to change the constitution, but said he would bow to the will of the majority.

Estrada made the appeal in Cotabato city on the second day of his tour of the southern island of Mindanao, where he is seeking support for a constitutional reform program that has deeply polarized the country.

He said protests against his proposal showed democracy was alive, "but after this let us set aside our objections and turn our attention to what is good for our people."

"We need unity to push our country forward," he added. Estrada said he had directed a special commission he has set up to study proposed charter amendments to consult widely with the public to find out how people really feel about the changes.

"I am ready to heed the results of their studies," he said. Estrada has called for scrapping protectionist economic provisions in the 12-year-old constitution that he says deter foreign investments.

Former president Corazon Aquino and Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin, who led a big protest --the largest so far against Estrada-- in Manila last week against the proposal, have expressed fear that Estrada also wants to scrap a provision that limits presidents to a single six-year term. They said it could endanger the country's young democracy.

Estrada denies this, saying he only wants to attract foreign capital to develop industries and lift Filipinos out of poverty.

Aquino has agreed to meet President Joseph Estrada to discuss her opposition to Estrada's plans to revise the Philippine constitution, said Lourdes Sytangco, her spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Cardinal Sin also said he is willing to meet Estrada and listen to the reasons behind the president's proposal to amend the constitution.

Meanwhile, the Philippine central bank chief said on Tuesday that "billions of dollars" ride on Estrada's move to rewrite the Philippine constitution.

Rafael Buenaventura said "billions of dollars" were needed to establish a fully operational telecommunications company.

He added capital of similar magnitude would also be needed if Manila wanted to set up an information technology center.

"Filipinos don't have the money for that," Buenaventura said. "We need to allow foreign investors to come in."

Estrada, who has rejected allegations of having a "hidden agenda", has proposed allowing full foreign ownership in areas where foreign entities are currently limited to 40 percent equity.

He also wants foreign investors to be able to own land. The 1987 constitution only allows them long-term leases.

"There are certain sectors where we have to be practical and be competitive with Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia," said Buenaventura.

He said Filipinos would in any case have the final say on Estrada's plans, with a plebiscite to ratify the reforms. And he added that the opposition were playing on popular fears that all farm land would be sold for industrial use.

"There is this notion of selling agricultural land to foreigners. We seem to have an emotional attachment to that," Buenaventura said.

Moreover, influential sections of the business community were "not against charter change", he said. Finally, he repeated government warnings that street protests against the constitutional amendments, such as one led by Aquino and Catholic bishops last Friday, "will have an effect on us".

He said the protests raised "questions of political stability" in the minds of potential foreign investors.