President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will address on Thursday (Oct. 13) the closing plenary session of the biggest and most important business forum of the year -- the 31st Philippine Business Conference and Expo (PBC&E) at the Manila Hotel.

The three-day conference has for its theme, "Crossing Borders, One, Global Filipino." It is designed to provide a venue for government and private sector leaders to dialogue on key policy issues concerning business and the economy.

More than 1,500 delegates, including business leaders, government officials, entrepreneurs, non-government organizations leaders and members of the academe are attending the conference.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Donald Dee said this year’s conference comes at a time "when our great nation deserves the much-needed break from the present political and economic predicament affecting most of us."

The conference, he added, also comes at a time when "our nation has once again re–emerged in the world’s spotlight as a nation of great people, able and ready to represent our country in various fields."

He said this year’s PBC&E is "all about the global Filipino, as we cross boundaries to realize our true potential to pursue opportunities the world offers."

The Consultative Commission (Con-Com) said today it will undertake extensive consultations with the people to ensure that the Charter changes it will propose to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reflect the views and sentiments of Filipinos nationwide.

Dr. Jose Abueva, Con-Com chairman, told a press briefing in Malacanang this afternoon that the people’s input and ideas are essential in crafting the final report that the commission will submit to the President on Dec. 15, 2005.

"We will be going around the country to consult the people and invite them to get involve (in amending the Constitution) because the proposals will be submitted to the people in a plebiscite. In the end, they (people) will decide (on the amendments to be made)," Abueva said.

The Con-Com chairman said the President wants the people to get involved in the entire Charter change process. The membership of the commission itself is representative of all sectors of society, he added.

"Consultations are essential to validate what the people want," Con-Com secretary general Lito Lorenzana said, in justifying the expense of the commission and the nationwide consultations.

"We can make do with what has been provided" the Con-com, he said, adding that members of the body were "flexible" as regards its budget.

He cited the offer of one member from Metro Manila to give up his transportation allowance in favor of members from Mindanao.

Abueva also doused cold water on speculations that the work of the commission would be wasted if the constitutional changes it will propose are not adopted by Congress.

"(Amending the Constitution) is not the exclusive task of Congress although it is their mandate. In the end it is the people who will decide," he said.

He added that "Congress can get the help of our people, scholars, media—all inputs, all of us—we have a stake in the quality and effectiveness of governance."

Only into the third week of discussions, the Con-Com has already sounded out the views of various sectors on the need to amend the Constitution and strengthen the country’s institutions.

Abueva also clarified that the Con-Com has "no mandate to rewrite the Constitution as there are many features that are humane and are worth preserving."

Among the key provisions of the 1987 Constitution that should be amended is the form of government, from presidential to parliamentary, from unitary to federal system, he said.

Also being looked into, according to Abueva, are judicial reforms and the economic provisions, particularly the participation of foreign nationals in economic activities in the country and the development of the national patrimony.

In her 2005 State of the Nation Address, the President urged Congress to start the "great debate on Charter change."

The Consultative Commission (Con-Com) created by Malacaņang to review and draw up proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution clarified today its role in the Charter change (chacha) process.

Con-Com chairman Dr. Jose Abueva said the commission is a mere study and consultative body and the results of their study will be of significant help to Congress if it decides to amend the existing Constitution.

Abueva, a member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention and a former president of the University of the Philippines, downplayed speculations that Congress would ignore their recommendations.

"What we will present them (Congress) are feedbacks from across the country," he explained during a media briefing in Malacaņang this afternoon.  

"I think (members of) Congress, with their busy schedule, can get help from the people, experts and scholars," he pointed out.

Con-Com deputy secretary general Ma. Romela Bengzon, a lady lawyer, said it is "possible but highly improbable" that lawmakers would brush aside their recommendations.

"We had lunch yesterday (Tuesday) with House leaders led by Speaker Jose de Venecia about the work we are doing.  They said they would welcome our studies," Bengzon said.

"I don’t believe they would just reject our proposals.  They would be very helpful," Abueva added.

The Con-Com, which welcomed Wednesday its 49^th member, Dr. Jose Diaz Villanueva, formally convened on Sept. 28 and is now on its third week of study and consultation work.

Villanueva is president emeritus of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, current president of the Council of Laity of the Philippines and senior adviser to Manila Mayor Lito Atienza.

The commission has already constituted its various working groups that include committees on Form of Government; Structure of the Republic; National Patrimony and Economic Reforms; Suffrage and Electoral Reforms and Political Party Reforms;

Preamble, National Territory, Declaration of Principles and Policies, Citizenship, Bill of Rights, Political Rights; Judiciary; Civil Service and Accountability of Public Officers; General Provisions, Amendments and Transitory Provisions and Constitutional Commissions; and Style.

Con-Com secretary general Lito Monico Lorenzana said they will make do with the P10 million budget set aside for the commission.

He said affluent members of the commission have even agreed to forego their allowances.

"However, we can’t agree with the proposal to forego provincial consultations, especially in Visayas and Mindanao, because we want to make the people co-authors of the new Constitution," Lorenzana said.

Abueva said Con-Com members have realized that the 18-year-old Constitution indeed has deficiencies, including the presidential system of government it defines.

"Frequent and continuing conflicts between the Executive and the Legislative slow down legislation. We need changes that can help solve problems and make changes," he noted.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has given senior government officials, including officers of the armed services, the go-signal to attend legislative hearings until the end of the year.

Memorandum Order No. 192 which was signed by the President last Oct. 7, however, limits the attendance of those covered by Executive Order No. 464 to confirmation hearings before the Commission on Appointments and to budget hearings before Congress on the proposed 2006 General Appropriations Act.

Although the consent was granted to heads of departments of the Executive branch of government and all other public officials covered by EO 464, they will have to observe the rule of confidentiality based on executive privilege, according to the MO.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said EO 464, which was issued last Sept. 28, was meant to ensure observance of the separation of powers, adherence to the rule on executive privilege and respect for the rights of public officials under the Constitution.

"Did you know that since EO 464 was issued last September 28, there have been 14 Senate hearings? And in 12 of these hearings, the Office of the President issued permits to 58 government officials to attend," Ermita asked.

"Meanwhile in the House of Representatives, there were 20 such hearings and we gave consent to 63 government officials to attend all these hearings," he added.

Malacanang today ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to periodically check the integrity and safety of structures of public buildings and other major infrastructures in Metro Manila and other population centers in the light of the destructive magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck Pakistan, India and Afghanistan recently.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita disclosed the order he issued in a press briefing this afternoon in Malacanang.

Director Renato Solidum Jr. of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) confirmed that a strong earthquake is imminent to hit Metro Manila, but allayed fears of large-scale casualties and destruction as long as the Building Code provisions are followed religiously in constructing buildings, homes and related infrastructures.

"Our building codes are good and what we need to do is make sure building officials and the appropriate agencies make sure these codes are followed," Solidum said.

Ermita said the order he issued to DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. is meant primarily to ensure public safety in populous areas to preempt the destruction and thousands of casualties wrought by the recent strong earthquake that hit South Asia.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ermita said, wanted to ensure the safety of the general public which was why the order was issued.

The order also directed the Education, Labor and other concerned line departments of government to promote earthquake preparedness in schools, workplaces and local communities around the country in coordination with Phivolcs.

"We must realize that the Philippines has its own fault lines and we must make earthquake preparedness a part of our national consciousness," Ermita added.

As part of the National Disaster Consciousness Month celebration last July, the Office of Civil Defense-National Capital Region (OCD-NCR), with technical assistance from Phivolcs and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), conducted simultaneous earthquake safety drills in more than 600 public schools in Metro Manila.

Solidum explained that it is important for the Philippines to learn from the South Asia tragedy and should ensure strict compliance with its building code. He said Phivolcs has recorded at least 20 earthquakes daily or around 10,000 –11,000 tremors a year.

He said at least 90 destructive earthquakes struck the country in the past 400 years and caused extensive damage and killed thousands of people.

The last strong tremor that hit the country was in 1994 which killed 83 persons in Mindoro. In 1991, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook Central and Northern Luzon and killed at least 1,280 persons in Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, Baguio City and Dagupan City in Pangasinan.

Solidum noted that the 1991 magnitude 7.8 shaker was stronger than the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that hit South Asia recently which killed some 40,000 persons.

"If you compare the casualties, ours is much lower because we have a different building code standard," Solidum added.