Modernized Public Service Act to result in jobs, investments —Salceda

Albay Representative Joey Salceda believes modernizing and amending the 85-year-old Public Service Act will bring positive effects to the country's economy, saying it will yield "massive" impacts to generation of jobs and investments.

Salceda made the remark after both chambers of Congress ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed measure modernizing the Public Service Act, which aims to ease foreign restrictions in most sectors except in some public utilities.

“It’s a massive reform because it opens us to foreign capital. We need a lot of foreign capital. We have plenty of domestic talent, but they leave for abroad because the capital required to hire them is invested abroad," Salceda said in a statement.

“It’s no surprise that we lag our neighbors behind in terms of foreign direct investment. We are the most restrictive economy in ASEAN, bar none. The PSA amendments change things massively," he added.

A economic adviser during the Arroyo administration, Salceda said the main economic benefit of the PSA amendments is that "it provides local (and oligopolistic) players in key sectors with a credible threat of external competition."

"Credible threat of competition is seen as a pro-competitive measure that reduces monopoly or oligopoly power (to set prices or provide services at low quality) and encourages local players to improve efficiency,” he said.

Salceda, principal author and sponsor of House Bill 78 or the Public Service Act amendments, said the measure is the "most important economic reform" since the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law.

Salceda said the final version of the measure "no longer requires burdensome reviews by the entire national security council for so-called critical infrastructure, which the Senate introduced."

He said a provision in the measure wherein if public utilities and public services exceed the rates set by the regulators, they have to refund the excess collections from the public and also pay fines.

Some lawmakers, however, opposed the measure, with Gabriela party-list Representative Arlene Brosas saying it will only enable the foreign takeover of key economic sectors such as telecommunications and transport. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News