Business groups push for passage of 17 priority bills

Local and foreign business groups are urging Congress to pass 17 priority bills to support the much delayed economic rebound.

The business groups wrote a joint letter to President Duterte, listing the 17 legislative measures they hope would be enacted by the 18th Congress.

The groups that signed the letter include Alyansa Agriculture, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc., Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc. and Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc.

Among the measures being pushed are amendments to the Foreign Investments Act (FIA), amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA), and amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization (RTL) Act.

Amendments to the FIA seek to ease restrictions on foreign businesses, while amendments to PSA will introduce changes to the definition of public utilities and allow greater foreign investment in telecommunications and transportation.

Amendments to the RTL would reduce the minimum required paid-up capital for foreign retailers.

The three measures have been certified as urgent by the President.

Other measures the business groups want passed are the bills for the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, Department of Water Resources Management, Ease of Paying Taxes, Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations, Freedom of Information, National Land Use Management, Open Access in Data Transmission, Philippine Creative Industries, Promotion of Digital Payments, Public Private Partnership, Rural Agricultural and Fisheries Development Financing System, Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law amendments, Tax Reform Package 3: Property Valuation and Assessment Reform, and Tax Reform Package 4: Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation.

The groups said most of the bills are in advanced stages in Congress and require counterpart action in the House or Senate.

“With one year left in the current Congress, we believe the 17 measures are achievable reforms that will generate substantial impact in achieving our shared vision of inclusive growth through job generation, poverty reduction, and global competitiveness,” the groups said. They added the reforms would help the economy bounce back from the impact of the pandemic and allow the country to achieve higher gross domestic product growth next year and beyond.