Nationwide round-up
Bill on foreign participation in public utilities hurdles House 1st reading
THE HOUSE of Representatives has moved one step closer to amending Commonwealth Act No. 146 or the Public Service Act by completing plenary debates on the measure last February 12 after six months of discussions. “Competition and foreign investment are inhibited because limitations that should only apply to the operation of a public utility are applied to all public services,” Albay 2nd District Rep. Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda, author of House Bill 78, said in his explanatory note on the measure that seeks to limit the definition of what is a public utility. “This situation is caused by the ambiguity in the definition of public utility that is often used interchangeably with public service under Commonwealth Act No. 146. The key to fixing this problem is to develop a clear statutory definition of public utility,” he said. Under HB 78, the definition of a public utility is limited to electricity distribution, electricity transmission, and water pipeline distribution or sewerage pipeline system.
COMPETITION
The congressman said the enactment of the proposed law would eventually benefit consumers. “This legislative reform will significantly contribute to increasing competition, as well as protecting the public interest. More competition among providers would result in lower prices and improved quality of basic services, creating a more competitive economy towards a better quality of life for all,” Mr. Salceda said. Meanwhile, Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, also from Albay representing the 1st District, said he would further explain his opposition to the bill when it is up for final reading. Committee and individual amendments to the measure are due for presentation next, after which the bill will be put to a second-reading vote. Final and third-reading vote takes place after three days. The House version of the proposed New Public Service Law of the Philippines was approved in September 2017 under the 17th Congress, but the Senate counterpart failed to get approval on third reading. Under the current 18th Congress, several related bills have already been filed before the Senate. — Genshen L. Espedido

Salceda to file bill institutionalizing school feeding program
A LEGISLATOR is preparing to file a bill guaranteeing access to nutritious school meals for all kindergarten and grade school students. Under the proposed Universal Free School Meals for Children Act, the Department of Education (DepEd) will implement a school-based feeding program for a minimum of 120 days per school year, to be done five days a week with one feeding activity per school day, Albay Rep. Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda said in a statement on Friday. “The most critical part of cognitive development is childhood, and when children are hungry, we cannot expect them to develop their full intellectual potential,” he said. “That’s why we must consider child nutrition as part of our investment in education. Pointless kasing papasukin sa eskwela, damihan ang subject, tapos ‘yung bata, gutom pala (It’s pointless to send a child to school, increase the academic subjects, and it turns out the child is hungry).”
LOCALLY-SOURCED FOOD
The bill will also encourage food production in schools, and the ingredients sourced from local farmers. “In a sense, my bill also ensures a sure market for farmer produce,” Mr. Salceda said. The congressman’s proposal will also call on DepEd to tap persons trained by the Technical Education and Skills Development Academy (TESDA) on food preparation, handling, and storage. “In that way, one of its positive consequences is job creation and training on child nutrition.” The 2018 Expanded National Nutrition Survey of the United Nations Children’s Fund shows high undernutrition rates among Filipino children despite a decline in the rate of stunting to 30% in 2018 from 34% in 2003. “The numerical equivalent of this rate is around 650,000 children. Among them, some 300,000 are with the severest form of malnutrition and require treatment,” the bill’s explanatory note said. “These results correlate with the country’s performance in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which covered 79 countries, where Filipino students fared worst in reading comprehension and second lowest in both mathematical and scientific literacy. Underdevelopment of the brain and the body tend to result in poor performance in reading, math, science and all other education metrics,” it added. The feeding program measure will be the fourth bill in Mr. Salceda’s Comprehensive Education Reform Agenda. He has previously filed the Teacher Empowerment Act to lighten teachers’ administrative load and improve the quality of teaching, the K to 12 Reform Act to make students more job-ready, and the Meister Schools Act to close the country’s highly-technical skills gap. — Genshen L. Espedido