By Mortz C. Ortigoza
DAGUPAN CITY - Senator Grace Poe said that Duterte could
not just sign an executive order through the Foreign Investment Negative List
(FINL) allowing a third player in the telecommunication industry controlled by
Philippines Long Distance Telephone/Smart and Globe Telecom.
“Ganito ‘yan, kasi sa batas natin may nagsasabi ‘pag ang telco, hindi puwedeng foreign owned ‘yan; so kailangan maipasa sa Senado, so ‘yun ‘yung aming itutulak. Ngayon, maganda ‘yung ibang mga korporasyon o industriya ay magkaroon ng kumpetensiya. So kung may foreign owners na magbibigay ng mas magandang serbisyo, bakit hindi ‘di ba? Pero nasa batas na kailangan muna naming ma-amyendahan,” she stressed to this paper when she visited this city recently.
“Ganito ‘yan, kasi sa batas natin may nagsasabi ‘pag ang telco, hindi puwedeng foreign owned ‘yan; so kailangan maipasa sa Senado, so ‘yun ‘yung aming itutulak. Ngayon, maganda ‘yung ibang mga korporasyon o industriya ay magkaroon ng kumpetensiya. So kung may foreign owners na magbibigay ng mas magandang serbisyo, bakit hindi ‘di ba? Pero nasa batas na kailangan muna naming ma-amyendahan,” she stressed to this paper when she visited this city recently.
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| Senator Grace Poe |
The duopoly of these corporations punished the Filipinos
for their poor services especially the internet connection considered one of
the slowest and probably expensive in Far East Asia.
“Kasi nasa Konstitusyon natin, na ito’y isang public
service kaya nga tinutulak ko ‘yung Public Services Act sa Senado na maipasa
para nga magkaroon tayo ng mas maraming kumpetisyon,”she explained.
The old Commonwealth Act No. 146 or known as Public
Service Acts restricts the ownership of public utilities. It is the reason that
discourages foreign investors to come to our country and instead go to
Thailand, Singapore, China, and Vietnam where they can own up to 100% of the
capital and the control of the board of directors.
The lengthy coverage of the public utilities in Acts No.
146 have been significantly reduced and replaced last September 8, 2017 by
House Bill 5828 led by then Congresswoman Gloria M. Arroyo limiting its
coverage with the clause “person that operates, manages, and controls
the distribution and transmission of electricity, and water pipeline
distribution system or sewerage pipeline system for public purpose” where
Filipinos could still continue to control 60% of the corporation.
Five bills have been filed last year in the Senate which
also seek to amend the Public Service Act.
Poe is the chairwoman of the Committee on Public Service
in the upper house that oversees these bills.
She had called a hearing last October 22, about the
pronouncement of National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) Director-General Ernesto Pernia about the impending
signature of President Duterte for the third Telco.
Poe told this paper that she did not agree that foreign
investors owned land in the country. She said it should be exclusive to
Filipinos.
The FINL is a legal document released by the
government to manage foreign business ownership in different
entrepreneurial fields. This follows Republic Act No. 10881, which amends
various investment subsidies in laws that focus on controlling adjustment
companies (insurance companies), lending, financing, and investment companies.
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