Highlights of the proposed amendments by the Consultative Commission (ConCom) to the national economy and patrimony provisions
•allowing the State to explore, develop, and utilize resources, or enter into co-production, joint-venture, or production-sharing agreements with corporations fully-owned by foreigners
•allowing corporations fully-owned by foreigners to hold alienable lands of the public domain by lease
•allowing the transfer of land classified as industrial, commercial or residential to foreign individual or corporations with foreign ownership
•removal of citizenship restriction on franchises and ownership of public utilities.
•allowing foreign ownership in advertising and mass media


No-El Proposal
The proposed scrapping of 2007 elections (No-El) will also be a debatable issue among power brokers. Political observers view it as quid pro quo (this-for-that) in exchange of the coveted congressional and provincial support. It is also perceived as a political maneuver to allow the continuance of the Arroyo administration until 2010. The Palace, on the other hand, pointed out that 2007 election will be very divisive and expensive. The way it looks, the approval of Cha-cha has the nod of most of the members of the House of the Representative but does not stand a chance in the Senate.


Crisis of Legitimacy and Credibility
A crisis of legitimacy and credibility troubles key institutions in the government namely the Presidency, the Comelec and the AFP. If this trend continues, it will undermine the very foundation of the democratic processes and institutions in the country. Any reform measures will translate to nothing without a functioning democracy in place. Meanwhile, President Arroyo contents herself with piecemeal solutions such as reorganization and media blitz, which do not actually attend to the roots of the problems.