Keep safeguards in amended Public Service Act ‘sacrosanct’ – Poe

Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, sponsored the bill amending the Public Services Act (Screengrab from a video by the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Safeguards in the Public Service Act, newly amended to allow 100-percent foreign ownership of public services, should remain “sacrosanct,” Sen. Grace Poe said on Monday.

As chair of the Senate public services committee, Poe sponsored the bill amending 85-year-old law, which President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law earlier on the same day.

According to Poe, the amendments will ease foreign equity requirements in select industries — such as telecommunications, airlines, and railways. They are meant to “spur critical investments to fast-track inclusive recovery and development that will leave no Filipino behind.”

“As main author and sponsor of the measure, I look forward to finally having an enabling environment that provides better and more affordable services, creates more jobs, and ultimately improves the quality of life of every Filipino,” Poe said.

“Our vigilance is crucial in ensuring that the safeguards we placed in the law remain sacrosanct,” she, however, stressed.

Among these safeguards include “giving authority to the president to suspend or prohibit any proposed merger or acquisition in the interest of national security,” Poe added.

“After 85 years, we’ve accomplished the most crucial task of amending the antiquated law,” she said. “Henceforth, our agencies must be equally determined to allow our people to truly benefit from it.”

RELATED STORY

Duterte signs law allowing full foreign ownership of telcos, airlines, railways