Restrictions on university professors could be removed from the Philippines’s negative list, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the updated Regular Foreign Investment Negative List (RFINL) will be up for approval by the Neda Board, which is chaired by the President, in early September.
The Neda is tasked to review and revise the country’s RFINL, which contains restrictions on foreign investments and the practice of professions based on the constitution and Philippine laws.
“According to Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon, the list is being finalized now, for approval in the next Neda Board meeting,” Pernia said.
Pernia added these are apart from the plan to allow increased foreign equity in telecommunication and the proposal to remove public utilities from the RFINL.
He said the focus of the review is on the parts of the list that can be removed through executive orders (EOs) to be issued by the President.
Once the Neda Board approves the new list, the President can already issue the needed EOs to allow more foreigners to practice their professions and investors to do business in the country.
These include allowing foreign professors to teach in various universities in the Philippines. Currently, private and public universities cannot hire foreign faculty members.
This becomes a problem, especially in the case of Filipino-American professors, who, based on their credentials, are qualified to teach in the Philippines. Before they can teach, they have to renounce their American citizenship.
“We have so many scientists in the US who have done groundbreaking scientific research and have patents, but they have dual citizenship and they cannot be given an item in the university because of this. They have to renounce their American citizenship to get an item,” Pernia said.
Apart from this, Edillon added the removal of foreign-investment houses from the negative list will allow them to operate 100-percent foreign-owned businesses in the Philippines.
Edillon said there is no law or any provision in the Constitution that prevents them from operating in the Philippines. The RFINL only limits foreign investments based on the law and/or Constitution.
“We already liberalized the banking sector so as not to restrict their movements; we want to include their other activities,” Edillon added.
In terms of easing restrictions on foreign equity in marketing and advertising through the Internet, Edillon said the Neda is still seeking a Department of Justice opinion on the matter.
However, Edillon said the proposed negative list will see the inclusion of marine deck engineers as among the professions that foreigners cannot practice in the Philippines.
This is based on Article IV, Section 6(a) of the Republic Act (RA) 8544, or the Philippine Merchant Marine Officers Act of 1998, which provides that a marine deck engineer must be a “citizen and resident of the Philippines”.
“[Based on the] Constitution, all practice of professions is restricted to Filipino citizens, except if provided by law. In some professions, the law that governs the practice of their profession by non-Filipinos allow foreigners or is subject to reciprocity,” Edillon said.
The RFINL contains investment areas/activities where foreign equity participation is limited by mandate of the Constitution and specific laws. It also consists of investment areas/activities where foreign-equity participation is limited for reasons of defense, security, risk to public health and morals, and protection of small- and medium-sized domestic market enterprises.
The amendment of the list is headed by the Neda secretariat, as provided for under Section 8 of RA 7042, or the Foreign Investments Act of 1991, which states that amendments may be made upon the recommendation of the secretary of national defense or the secretary of health, or the secretary of education, endorsed by the Neda, approved by the President, and promulgated by a Presidential Proclamation.
1 comment
Great article! Any update on this? Are foreigners still not allowed to get hired as faculty members? If not, can foreigners teach or do science and technology jobs in the country? Under what condition? Looking forward to your response. Thanks!