LIBERALIZATION of public utilities and retail trade are the last measures business leaders want legislators to pass before the 17th Congress concludes this year.

The passage of the amended Public Service Act remains to be the top legislative concern of business leaders interviewed by the BusinessMirror. Maria Alegria Sibal-Limjoco, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and John D. Forbes, senior advisor of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said lawmakers must prioritize this piece of legislation.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, too, believes changes to the Public Service Act must be expedited, and that it should not take another Congress to insert the reforms.

Public utilities must be solely operated by firms that are 60-percent owned by Filipinos under Article 12, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution. House Bill (HB) 5828 and Senate Bill (SB) 1754 seek to clearly define what public utilities are, and, in the process, lift foreign ownership restriction on sectors that fall outside it, particularly telecommunications.

HB 5828 and SB 1754 listed as public utilities the distribution of electricity; transmission of electricity; and water pipeline distribution system or sewerage pipeline system.

HB 5828 was approved in September 2018. On the other hand, its Senate counterpart is awaiting second reading.

On top of amending the 82-year-old Public Service Act, Lopez urged legislators to beat the deadline in passing the new Retail Trade Liberalization Act, which aims to further open up the retail trade industry to foreign participation.

HB 4595, filed by Rep. Arthur C. Yap of the Third District of Bohol, and SB 1639, authored by Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, intend to remove minimum capital requirements and foreign equity in retail trade.

Yap and Gatchalian argued the law has restricted the entry of foreign retailer firms, which could have translated to more employment opportunities.

“Based on the list of foreign retailers prequalified by the [Board of Investments], only 22 retailer firms have invested in the country’s retail sector since 2000,” Gatchalian said in his explanatory note of SB 1639.

“Currently, the law requires a minimum paid-up capital of $2.5 million for a 100-percent foreign ownership of a retail establishment. These requirements, along with other barriers, have resulted in the Philippines lagging behind other Asian countries in terms of developing a regulatory regime favorable to foreign investment,” he added.

In a statement in November, the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines had called on lawmakers to expedite the passage of amendments to, among others, the Public Service Act and Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

However, bills seeking to liberalize the retail trade industry have yet to make significant progress in both chambers. HB 4595 and SB 1639 are both pending committee deliberations.

Congress will resume session on January 14 and will end on February 8 to make way for the midterm elections.

The 17th Congress will then commence session for the last time on May 20. Sine die adjournment begins on June 8.