Erwin Tulfo files bill seeking to strengthen contractor license regulations

Senator Erwin Tulfo has filed a bill proposing to enforce stronger regulation on contractor licenses, after some members of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) were linked to the alleged anomalous flood control projects.

Senate Bill 1373 aims to amend the Contractor’s License Law.

The proposed measure seeks to disqualify PCAB members from the board if they are the owners, stockholders, or among the officials of companies that have transactions with the government.

Once a conflict of interest arises, a member must divest within 30 days, Tulfo said.

Under RA4566, PCAB is mandated to issue, suspend, and revoke licenses of contractors, and to investigate the violations, among others. However, Tulfo said that the current law is being abused.

The bill proposed that the chairman and four members of PCAB should be representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the construction industry, and the academe or civil society. 

This move aims to remove contractors who are sitting as members of PCAB.

Once the measure is approved, a stricter qualification will be implemented for the PCAB members. 

They must be a natural-born Filipino, a resident in the Philippines for eight years, at least 35 years old, and have a good moral character.

They would also have a three-year tenure with no reappointment.

The proposed prescriptive period for filing charges is 10 years.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson earlier tagged PCAB members, engineers Erni Baggao and Arthur Escalante, for a supposed potential conflict of interest in approving public works contracts while sitting in the top ranks of the organization.

Baggao is the owner and president of EGB Construction Corporation, while Escalante owns Escalante Construction Inc.

“The Filipino people deserve honesty, fairness, and public works projects that truly serve their communities. Not this circus where regulators double as beneficiaries, where laws are exploited, and where corruption festers under the guise of legality,” Tulfo said in his privilege speech. —VBL, GMA Integrated News