Palace assures foreign, local investors nothing to worry about govt’s contract review

January 23, 2020

Malacanang assured anew on Thursday that foreign and local investors have nothing to worry about the ongoing review by the government on certain contracts.

This as Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a review on the deal between the state-run University of the Philippines and the Ayala Land, Inc. involving the Technohub, a commercial area located in Quezon City.

Panelo, also chief presidential legal counsel, said he informed the President about the alleged "onerous" UP-ALI deal.

He said Duterte's reply, "we will review so that we will know if it's true or not."

Aside from the UP-ALI contract, Duterte also earlier ordered to revise the concession agreements with water firms - Manila Water Company, Inc. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. - also due to "onerous" and "disadvantageous" provisions.

The Department of Finance, on the other hand, had also "uncovered onerous provisions" in the state-run National Development Co. subsidiary Batangas Land Co. Inc. with private firm Chevron Philippines Inc., formerly Caltex Philippines.

DOF said that Chevron has been leasing for over four decades already for a "measly 74 centavos per square meter per month, only 4% of the current monthly fair market rental estimate of Php 17.90 per sq. m." The 

In a press conference earlier in the day, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said that "authorities" should consider the comments from some businessmen and credit-rating agencies concerning the review on the contracts between some government entities and the private sector.

“Those remarks, those comments need to be considered by the authorities,” he said.

Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon, on the other hand, said the government has to do a balancing act.

“It’s really a very delicate balancing act. We do want to send a strong signal that we will not be tolerating these onerous contracts,” she said.

“I think one of the lessons going forward is that there has to be some clause, a review clause at least, in these contracts, especially as there will be changes going that far ahead into the future,” Edillon added. Celerina Monte/DMS