Philippines to Allow 100 Percent Foreign Ownership of Public Services

The Philippines Senate has passed the third and final reading of Senate Bill (SB) 2094, which amends the Public Service Act by enabling the 100 percent foreign ownership of public services, such as telecommunications, airlines, shipping, and railways.

SB 2094 makes a clear distinction between the definition of public services and public utilities since under the 1987 Constitution, only firms that are at least 60 percent owned by Filipinos are given the authorization, certificate, and franchise to operate as a public utility.

SB 2094 narrows public utilities to just the following:

This means that there will be no restriction on foreign ownership for industrial undertakings not classified as public utilities. However, to protect national security, SB 2094 contains safeguards that prohibit foreign state-owned enterprises from owning capital in a public service classified as critical…