The House Committee on Trade and Industry approved Tuesday a bill seeking  to penalize contractors who conduct business here without the necessary license, among others.

After more than one hour of virtual deliberations, the House panel decided to pass House Bill No. 1911, which seeks to amend Republic Act No. 4566 or the Contractors’ License Law, subject to style and amendments.

It was Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel who moved for the approval of the bill, principally authored by Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr.

“The motion is approved. The committee secretary is hereby directed to prepare the committee report on HB 1911 and submit the same to the plenary subject to style, then we will submit it to the plenary at the soonest possible time,” Batangas 3rd District Rep. Ma. Theresa Collantes, vice chairperson of the panel who presided the virtual meeting.

The amendments introduced to Gonzales’ bill are the following: The penalty should be based on the amount of contracts executed without the necessary licenses; graduated renewal of licenses as recommended by Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) Commissioner Emilio Lolito Tumbocon; and that the general contractor will be liable and be penalized for allowing foreign nationals to work without necessary labor permits as proposed by Nueva Ecija 3rd District Rep. Rosanna “Ria” Vergara.

Gonzales gave in to the proposed amendments, even as he urged his colleagues to support his “timely measure to rectify the “infirmities" of RA 4566.

RA No. 4566  provides that no contractor shall engage in the business of contracting without first having secured a Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) license to conduct business and undertake construction in the country.

Gonzales said under his bill, a fine of not less than P50,000 if the cost of the project is not more than P500 million, and a fine of not less than P500,000 if the cost of the project is more than P500 million shall be imposed to contractors who engage in joint ventures without first obtaining an additional license and any other eligibility requirements as provided under RA 4566.

He noted that HB 1911 also proposes that  the bidder  be automatically disqualified for award of contract.

The House leader cited the need to impose higher fees for licensing, registration of application, and renewal to address inflation and rising operational costs and expenses of the PCAB, support additional mandates and services , and other developmental programs, projects and advocacies by the PCAB.

Gonzales said since the enactment  of RA 4566 in 1965, the existing fees as stipulated in Section 39 has yet to be amended.

Under HB 1911, he proposed that the amount of fees prescribed by the proposed Act shall be as follows: P5,000 for an original license, P6,000 for examination of an applicant; and P5,000 for annual renewal.

Gonzales’ bill initially provides that a license shall now be valid for one year from its issuance, and may be renewed by filing an application for renewal at least one month before its expiry date to the PCAB accompanied by the annual renewal fee and such other documents as may be required by the Board.

During the virtual meeting, the representatives of CIAC, PCAB, the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), and the Philippine Domestic Construction Board (PDCB) expressed support to Gonzales' HB 1911.