Duterte names BCDA chief as adviser on flagship programs

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has appointed Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president Vivencio Dizon as presidential adviser for flagship programs and projects.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed over the weekend Dizon’s appointment for the advisory position.

His inclusion as member of the administration’s infrastructure cluster is warranted under Executive Order 86, which expanded the BCDA mandate in the conversion of the Clark and Subic military reservations, vital public infrastructure projects and role in the Build Build Build program.   

Aside from his role in the BCDA, Dizon is acting chairman of the Clark Development Corp. and a member of government corporations John Hay Management Corp., Poro Point Management Corp., Fort Bonifacio Development Corp., Bonifacio Estate Services Corp and Bonifacio Global City Estates Association.

Meanwhile, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian wants greater competition on locally funded government public works projects by amending the restrictions in the country’s 78-year-old law.

As vice chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs, he recently filed Senate Bill No. 1009 to amend the already antiquated Commonwealth Act No. 541 or “An Act to Regulate the Awarding of Contracts for Construction or Repair of Public Works.”

Gatchalian said amending CA 541 has long been overdue and is much needed given the government’s current thrust on infrastructure development.

“For 78 years, such domestic preference policy has confined competition in the construction industry within our territorial boundaries and has discriminated in favor of domestic businesses with substantial market power and political influence. In this light, this bill seeks to provide a more level playing field and extend equal opportunities to eligible and qualified domestic and foreign bidders to participate in the bidding by the government for public works projects,” he pointed out.

His bill fine-tunes the old law to ease restrictions that prohibit foreign contractors from bidding on locally funded public works projects.

The bill amends Section 1 of CA 541 to state that it is now state policy “to extend equal opportunities to eligible and qualified bidders to public works projects of the government and to attract domestic and foreign investments in the construction industry to improve market dynamism, encourage innovation, and reward good performance.”

In pushing for the amendment of CA 541, Gatchalian contends that domestic businesses with substantial market power and political influence have been benefiting from a restrictive policy that confines competition in the Philippine construction industry.

He noted that public construction grew by only eight percent while private construction grew by 58 percent between 2010 and 2015 due to the lack of genuine competition in the public construction industry.

“The lack of genuine competition in the public construction industry impairs public welfare as there are fewer incentives for existing domestic firms to innovate and puts at risk the delivery of reliable, safety-compliant and quality public works,” Gatchalian lamented. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe