MANILA, Philippines — Concerned with the foray of a “handful of super-investor groups” in major public utility companies and infrastructure firms, Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez has filed a bill that would restrict the participation of individuals and corporations in public utilities.

In filing House Bill 2291, Suarez said he is worried that the Philippines “will be owned by five family names.”

“This handful of super-investor groups are now dominating and dividing up among themselves all the major areas of public utility services and infrastructure operations, such as the provision of water, electrical power, transportation, and media. These are services that are essential and highly regulated, and it is a danger to our economic democracy for them to be owned and/or controlled by only a few super groups,” he said.

“The present picture now clearly exposes the concentration of economic and corporate wealth and political influence in the hands of a few,” he said.

Suarez explained that under the bill, in case there are participation in two or more public utilities, the individual will have to divest his interests in other public utilities until his participation is limited to one type of service.

The Constitution requires a 60-40 ownership in favor of Filipino investors. Investors wanting to go into public utilities need congressional approval for their franchise.

“However, such requirement of securing a legislative franchise is circumvented by investors who want to expand their business into other utilities by buying controlling stocks or shares in other utility companies. Under existing laws, such moves by businessmen are within legal binds, since they invest in different utilities and do not monopolize a certain service,” Suarez said.

“The implication of this situation, on other hand, is the concentration of ownership to a very few who have the capital to invest in the diversification of their business ventures, especially utilities,” he said.

Suarez vowed the House minority’s involvement in next week’s debate on the Anti-Trust bill to push for the inclusion of the HB 2291 provision that seeks to limit the right of participation in public utilities into one type of service only.

“The minority will take a strong position to support and incorporate the provision of House Bill 2291 wherein the proposal is to limit ownership to just one,” he said. He said the Philippines should learn from the United States, which has “divested” monopoly.