Let this piece be an updating report, especially to my colleagues in business, on what the business sector is doing to be engaged in the move to amend our Constitution—which portends major consequences to all of us Filipinos.

We might recall that on August 14, a joint statement was published by 26 business organizations expressing “Business Support Economic Managers’ Call to Weigh Costs and Risks in Shift to Federal Government.”

The Duterte administration’s economic team led by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia had stated, in a Senate hearing, that they had very serious reservations about pushing for a shift to a federal government at this time, citing particularly the heavy financial burdens it entailed for government plus other related ill effects to our fiscal program.

The business group expressed its agreement to the concerns of the economic managers, but has gone beyond this joint statement. Seeing how the move to amend or revise the Constitution is a continuing serious effort by this administration and Congress, the business sector has taken the initiative to review the various proposals for constitutional changes—to compare, to analyze, to clarify, to point out consequences, good or bad, and to enlighten public discussion. After all, every provision in the Constitutional proposals affects all of us, and certainly all of us in the business community.

The Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) are the joint convenors of a study group, which shall be— in fact, already is—conducting this review.

The study group’s members are volunteers from the various business organizations, which cosponsored the joint statement. Notably active in this review effort are: the Foundation for Economic Freedom; the Institute of Corporate Directors; the Judicial Reform Initiative; Makati Business Club; the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Shareholders Association of the Philippines; Bankers Association of the Philippines; Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Employees’ Confederation of the Philippines; and Philippine Exporters Confederation.

The study group (understandably, a fairly large membership) has constituted itself into four smaller study groups for convenience and manageability, considering how big an elephant the constitutional proposals represent. One will address the political aspects, to cover the form of government, allocation of powers, definition of functions and the rationale. The second will focus on the fiscal and economic aspects. The third will address issues of sub-national institutional governance and capacities, i.e. regional and local government units.

The fourth will examine the various aspects of judicial reform in the proposals.

Already, the study groups have submitted preliminary comments arising from their initial reviews. As might have been expected, there are questions about how the review process should proceed, and how to handle divergent views.

Some guidelines have been established. The study group has decided to review, and compare to the present 1987 Constitution, the proposed Bayanihan Constitution of the Puno Consultative Committee, the House of Representatives version and the PDP-Laban version. And as for contrary points of view, there will be opportunities to record different opinions, all in the interest of allowing differing perspectives to be shared.

The business sector study group knows its limitations, and will consult, as might be decided, experts on particular subjects or constitutional topics. Nor does the business sector study group pretend to substitute itself for a mini-constitutional commission or some such thing.

But let it not be said that the business sector has not taken the responsibility of being engaged in this fundamental citizens’ exercise of charting our future.