MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives has undertaken initial measures to amend some existing laws in a bid to lure more investors help fund priority infrastructure projects, particularly in the power sector and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said they have prioritized the review and amendment of a law on build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).
“Our amendatory laws are intended to equalize and make uniform the treatment of investors, promote transparency in the award of contracts, and predictability in the relations between the government and private investors,” he noted.
Belmonte said the extension of the life of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) has been approved, as a preliminary step to amending and reviewing the implementation of the EPIRA.
“The JCPC will be able to study more thoroughly the needs of the power industry and propose legislation that would avert any future crisis in this important sector of our economy,” he stressed.
On the other hand, Belmonte said the proposed amendments to the BOT law are presently in the advanced stages of committee deliberations.
He said such changes to the law are intended to make competitive bidding the cornerstone in the award of contracts. This is geared towards removing partiality and instability in relations between the government and private contractors.
“Through these initiatives, we expect to attract more investors local and foreign- who will partner with government in the supply of infrastructure critical to our competitiveness,” Belmonte added.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is urging the government to pursue openness, transparency and effective competition for PPP projects through amending the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the BOT Law.
This recommendation was included in a resolution it submitted to President Aquino. Such resolution comprising 14-point sectoral agenda was the output of the three-day 37th Philippine Business Conference that ended on Friday.
Apart from amending the IRR, the business group also cited the need to issue an executive order creating a 10th variant on joint ventures under the BOT Law, and streamline right-of-way (ROW) negotiations.
The sectoral agenda of the resolution include agricultural development, education and skills development, energy and power reforms, environment, good governance, housing and construction, industry, intellectual property, mining, taxation, trade, transport and logistics, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) development.
Published October 16, 2011, Philippine Star
