By Fel V. Maragay

SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday said he was amenable to amending the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly, and for as long as the changes were limited to economic provisions as proposed by Speaker Prospero Nograles.

Enrile said he believed there was enough time for Congress to pursue Charter change before the 2010 elections, although many of his colleagues in the Senate do not share his view.

?If we are talking only of economic provisions, I have an open mind about amending the Constitution even if it is before the 2010 elections, before Christmas of 2009 or before All Souls Day of 2009,? he said.

The House committee on constitutional amendments has endorsed a resolution, sponsored by Nograles, to lift the constitutional limitation on foreign ownership of corporations and to allow foreigners to own land here.

Enrile said his understanding was that the Senate and House of Representatives could amend the Constitution by a three-fourths vote of the members of each chamber, voting separately. He said the two chambers need not meet jointly.

Asked how long it would take Congress to amend the Charter, Enrile said: ?It depends on what they will propose. If it is not complicated, then we can approve it within a short period. But if they will add controversial provisions, then that is a dead ball.?

Still, prospective presidential contenders among the senators remain cool to the amendment initiative, saying there should be no Charter change before the 2010 elections.

Senator Richard Gordon has said that while he opposes any amendments before 2010, he agrees on the need to revise the economic provisions of the Constitution that make the country unattractive to foreign investments.

Senator Francis Escudero said the administration?s move to pursue Charter change reeked of ?self-serving reasons,? now that President Arroyo?s term was ending in less than 18 months.

?Why are they insisting on pushing this now? Why not at the start of her term? This administration cannot play it sleek and smooth, its propensity to burnish its ambition beyond its term limit is so gross,? he said.

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Senator Loren Legarda said the proposal to amend the economic provisions was a bait to persuade those opposed to amendments to change their minds about Charter change.

?What they have done is just an opening gambit. The hidden agenda will surface later,? Pimentel said.

Legarda said any attempts to lift the term limits on elective officials would spell the doom of the amendment proposal.

At the House, Nograles warned his colleagues that it would be illegal for the plenary to insert amendments to his resolution to include political change.

?No one can insert amendments in my resolution that are not germane to the topic. That is illegal,? Nograles said.

He said his resolution focused on lifting limits to foreign ownership of corporations and land, and would not result in an extension of term limits.

But La Union Rep. Victor Ortega of Lakas said nothing could stop the plenary from inserting changes during the period of amendments and debates. With Christine F. Herrera