President Rodrigo Roa Duterte ratified the Public Service Act (PSA) amendment during the ceremonial signing of the law in Malacañang on Monday, 21 March 2022.
This amendment will generate more jobs and lower business costs in the country. The definition of public utilities is limited to industries such as the distribution and transmission of electricity, petroleum and petroleum products, pipeline transmission systems, water pipeline distribution, wastewater pipeline systems, seaports, and public utility vehicles. The above mentioned are the only industries subjected to the 40-percent foreign ownership restriction on public utilities as mandated by the 1987 Constitution.
In a joint press release of the EDC, PCCI, PHILEXPORT, and SCMAP, the group remarked that “this reform is one of the key policy measures for promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country, enabling the economy to attain even pre-pandemic rates of economic growth.” KJDA