Bill would open PH public utilities to foreign funding, including maritime transportMaritime transport companies in the Philippines could soon attract foreign investment, as a bill to ease restrictions and update statutory definitions of public utilities has advanced from the committee level at the House of Representatives. House Bill 446, filed by Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, seeks to revise the 80-year-old Philippine Public Service Act. Competition and foreign investments are inhibited, because limitations that should only apply to the operation of a public utility are usually also applied to all public services,” he pointed out. The situation, Salceda said, is primarily caused “by ambiguities in the definition of public utility that is often used interchangeably with public service under Commonwealth Act No. Redefining public utility would also clarify the definition of public service, which applies to maritime and other transport services, loosening up restrictions on foreign ownership.

Source: Manila Times May 26, 2017 17:48 UTC