Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. on Monday, Jan. 17 assailed as unconstitutional the Senate amendment to the 1936 Public Service Act as it allegedly seeks to prohibit state-owned enterprises to engage in public services.
Now running for senator, Roque said the provision of the proposed measure clearly refers to China even if it is not specifically identified in the bill.
A lawyer, Roque said the provision of the bill that sought to amend the 1936 Public Service Act is discriminatory against China which makes it “patently unconstitutional.”
“Prohibiting state-owned enterprises to engage in the public service sector is discriminatory to the People’s Republic China and even inimical to the economic interests of the Philippines because both countries own businesses that are key players in the power generation and distribution industry,” warned Roque.
He explained: “We are supposed to liberalize the provisions of this antiquated law to allow and not discriminate players in the sector. Ultimately, it is the consumers that would benefit from better public services that will be generated by these competitors.” The Senate passed on third and final reading Senate Bill 2094 last month.
Reviewing the approved bill, Roque argued that “restricting the entry of foreign state-owned corporations into public services is violative of the equal protection clause under the 1987 Constitution. Our Constitution states that everyone in the Philippines, which includes foreigners, is entitled to equal protection of the law. ”
He also pointed out that “we have already allowed Chinese enterprises to enter the sector through the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for years.”
“We do not know why there is a need to discriminate against state-owned enterprises from China when this is not germane to the law and there is no basis for distinction,” Roque said.
The former Malacañang official clarified that “even without the mention of China, the prohibition against foreign state-owned enterprises is clearly a distinction based on nationality.”