Bill amending PSA to boost competition
Credit to Author: Divina Nova Joy Dela Cruz| Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2020 17:53:49 +0000
ALBAY Second District Rep. Jose Maria Clemente “Joey” Salceda defended on Friday his measure amending the 84-year-old Public Service Act (PSA) that includes redefining the term “public utility,” saying it would create more jobs in certain industries and bolster competition.
According to the lawmaker, who heads the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, his House Bill (HB) 78 would significantly contribute to increased competition and protection of public interest.
“More competition among providers would result in lower prices and improved quality of basic services, creating a more competitive economy toward a better quality of life for all,” Salceda said in a statement.
Approved on second reading at the House on Tuesday, HB 78 seeks to limit the definition of public utility to power distribution and transmission, and water pipeline distribution or sewerage pipeline system. It also distinguishes that term from “public service,” which telecommunications and transportation businesses would fall under.
Legislators like Albay First District Rep. Edcel Lagman and those in the Makabayan bloc had warned that measure would open up such businesses to full foreign ownership. Those under public utility still follow the 60-percent Filipino, 40-percent foreign ownership rule set by the 1987 Constitution.
Salceda said the proposed PSA amendments could raise gross domestic product growth by up to 0.22 percent, and real wages were expected to go higher by 0.14 percent once more investments come into the country.
“Typically, investments in technology-driven sectors, like telecommunications, tend to bring costs down for consumers. Large-enough investments attracted by the PSA may bring overall inflation down from [the] baseline. Unemployment is likely to decline by 0.1 percent, following growth in output due to more investments,” explained Salceda, also an economist.
He said the PSA needed to be amended “ to end unfair protection and to enable economic dynamism.”
“Our laws are riddled with unfair and irrational protection for so many sectors. It’s the consumer who pays the price — bad, expensive, unreliable service. Meanwhile, protected sectors grow complacent and they stagnate. Unfair protectionism brings economic stagnation,” Salceda said.
“In fact, many of our protectionist policies are so irrational that, among some 80 countries surveyed by the OECD, we were found to be the most restrictive economy in 2018,” he added, referring to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
“Paano ka hahakot ng investment at gagawa ng trabaho niyan, eh sabi ng batas mo, ayaw mo naman ng investment (How can we attract investment and create jobs when your law doesn’t want them)?”