MANILA — Opening up the country to more foreign investments is no magic bullet that will solve the Philippine's development problems, an economic think-tank said Tuesday.

IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa's statements came after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked the Senate to lead a review of the 1987 Constitution's economic provisions.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, in response, has filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 which proposes a review of the Constitution and several amendments that would allow foreign ownership in some public utilities.

• Zubiri nais amyendahan ang economic provisions ng Konstitusyon

"The real policy question is how can foreign capital that comes to the country contribute to long-term national development that we need, especially in terms of for instance, developing Filipino industries," Africa said on ANC's "Market Edge".

• Foreign direct investments net inflows down in October

Africa noted the stock of foreign investment in the Philippines is equivalent to about 27 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

"That is more foreign investment in the Philippine economy than in China, South Korea, and Taiwan, when they were taking off in the 1970s and 1980s. So I think that should draw attention to why is foreign investment not developing the Philippine economy," he stressed.

"Because we don’t have that policy framework to regulate foreign direct investment for development, the gains are very exaggerated and they are really not showing up I think in the macroeconomic figures right now," he said.

"We do want to stress, there is no empirical basis to think that just opening up to foreign investment will develop the country."

That hasn’t been the Philippine experience, that actually hasn’t been the global experience, so we are worried that that sort of orientation won’t really develop the Philippine economy," he said.

He said that easing restrictions on foreign investments would be helpful if the government has a framework in place that would ensure that these investments help the country's industries develop and not just lead to profits for foreign investors. ANC, 16 January 2024