Contractors’ license applications in Central Luzon rise in 2018

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— A record total of 841 applications for contractors’licenses and accreditations, commonly known as Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) licenses, have been processed by the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP)window at the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office III (DTI-3).

The figure is significantly higher than the 674 applications processed by the DTI-3 window in Central Luzon in 2017 and much higher than the 445 PCAB license applications and accreditations in 2016.

Contractors from Pampanga accounted for 475 applications, or more than half of all the PCAB applications processed while Nueva Ecija contractors totaled 186. There were also 80 applications from Bataan, 63 from Tarlac, 19 from Bulacan, 12 from Zambales and six applications from other ar eas.

Aside from applications for new licenses or renewal, other transactions processed in the CIAP window include amendments, category upgrade and Application for Certification of Contractors (ARCC) for Government Infrastructure Projects.

Records from the Philippine Statistics Authority from 2015-2017 show that Central Luzon has the fourth largest Gross Value Added in Construction in the whole country, growing significantly from P91.7-billion in 2015 to P121.4-billion in 2017.

The growing trend in construction is also supported by the “Build Build Build” program espoused by President Rodrigo Duterte. The administration is set to implement in 2019 a total of P909.7-billion worth of infrastructure projects throughout the country.

These “Build Build Build” projects include roads and bridges, irrigation projects, airports, ports and wharves, among others. These projects are seen to create more than one million additional jobs and create more investments and stir the local economy.

R.A. 4566, or the Contractor’s License Law, as amended by P.D. No. 1746 provides that no contractor (including sub-contractor and specialty contractor) shall engage in the business of contracting without first having secured a PCAB license to conduct business. It is an offense to engage in contracting business without a license first being obtained.

The purpose of R.A. 4566 is to ensure, for the safety of the public, that only qualified and reliable contractors are allowed to undertake construction in the country. The law also aims to promote for the benefit of the public and private sectors and for the national interest, the orderly growth of the contracting sector and the upgrading of construction capability.— Warren Serrano/DTI-3