MORE business groups joined the call to fully liberalize the sectors outside of the natural monopolies, including the transportation, telecommunications and power generation, to make the country more attractive as an investment destination.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, several business groups said that three sectors should not be defined as public utilities as they will be subjected to 40-percent foreign ownership restriction.
“There has never been a time when we need more foreign direct investments [FDI] such as now as we work towards the common objectives of recovery and sustainable progress,” they said. The Senate is currently deliberating on the bill amending the 80-year-old Public Service Act (PSA), which covers the public utilities.
The current bill identifies the distribution of electricity; transmission of electricity; and water pipeline distribution systems and sewerage pipeline systems as public utility. But other public services may be considered as public utility given certain criteria, including their being a natural monopoly.
“Our position on transport and telecom has been affirmed by the results from many consultations among exporters, manufacturers, SMEs [small and medium enterprises] and other business stakeholders who all had strongly clamored for this reform,” the groups said.
In addition, the business groups backed the Electric Power Industry Reform Act which opens the sector to local and 100-percent foreign private investors. They said this can help meet the energy demand in several industries, including the fuel-intensive manufacturing sectors.
Full liberalization of the said sectors is also seen to address the roadblocks to developing supply chains in the country as it will potentially allow more investments without the restrictions.
The business groups cited the following as primary concerns: “high inter-island shipping rates, expensive and unreliable internet connection, unreliable power supply, and inadequacy of infrastructure.”
The organizations stressed the “need of urgent and massive upgrade to speed up and improve our telecommunications system,” which has been pronounced amid the pandemic.
They lamented the usual scenarios of service interruptions, technical glitches and lack of internet access, among others. “Every second the Philippines is offline because of the inability of our current providers to keep us connected is a second that the Philippines is closed for business,” they added.
The business groups told the Senate to be “bold” in making the decision related to PSA amendments. “We have seen how timely and appropriate policy decisions elsewhere have led to significant positive results and these are inspirations that we can learn from and adopt,” they said.
The joint statement was signed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines and Export Development Council.
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