Public Service Act changes has no constitutional infirmity – Salceda

– A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Friday said the proposed amendments to the 84-year-old Public Service Act (PSA) bear no constitutional infirmity.

In an aide-memoire addressed to the House leadership, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said the Supreme

Court upheld the constitutionality of removing industries previously considers as public utilities, citing the legal antecedents of JG Summit Holdings Inc. vs. Court of Appeals and National Power Corporation vs. Provincial Government of Bataan.

Salceda said House

Bill No. 78 seeks to provide a clear statutory definition of a public utility, which means that a narrower set of services, including electricity distribution, electricity transmission, and water pipeline distribution or sewerage pipeline system, will be subject to foreign equity ownership restric“In tions.

“Basic services that are almost universally in use in the country, such as electricity, water, power, and telecommunications, are currently subject to foreign ownership restrictions. However, there is consumer and business dissatisfaction

with these services, which are often characterized by high prices and poor services,” he said.

“The lack of competition is caused by ambiguity in the definition of public utility that is used interchangeably with public service under the Public Service Act... There is clearly a need to end the ambiguity and clearly define what a public utility is,” he added.

He said the proposed PSA amendments would create jobs and lay the foundation for stronger economic growth, with an expected yield of up to 0.22% higher gross domestic product (GDP) growth compared to baseline.

He noted that real wages are also expected to go up by 0.14% higher than baseline, following more investments in the country.