Congress prioritizes BOT, EPIRA changes
October 28, 2011 at 18:01
MANILA, Philippines — Congress is set to amend some existing laws in a bid to lure more investors help fund priority infrastructure projects, particularly in the power sector and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said they have prioritized the review and amendment of a law on build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).
“Our amendatory laws are intended to equalize and make uniform the treatment of investors, promote transparency in the award of contracts, and predictability in the relations between the government and private investors,” he noted.
Belmonte said the extension of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) has been approved, as a preliminary step to amending and reviewing the implementation of the EPIRA.
“The JCPC will be able to study more thoroughly the needs of the power industry and propose legislation that would avert any future crisis in this important sector of our economy,” he stressed.
On the other hand, Belmonte said the proposed amendments to the BOT law are presently in the advanced stages of committee deliberations.
Such changes to the law are intended to make competitive bidding the cornerstone in the award of contracts. This is geared towards removing partiality and instability in relations between the government and private contractors, he said.
“Through these initiatives, we expect to attract more investors local and foreign- who will partner with government in the supply of infrastructure critical to our competitiveness,” Belmonte added.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has urged the government to pursue openness, transparency and effective competition for PPP projects through amending the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the BOT Law.
This recommendation was included in a resolution it submitted to President Benigno S. Aquino III during the Philippine Business Conference.
Apart from amending the IRR, PCCI also cited the need to issue an executive order creating a 10th variant on joint ventures under the BOT Law, and streamline right-of-way (ROW) negotiations.
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By: Edu Lopez
Source: Manila Bulletin, October 23, 2011
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