Senate is set to tackle the bill that will finally allow foreign firms to enter the telecommunications industry in the Philippines.
This comes given the poor and expensive services of major local telecommunication firms in the country.
Senate Committee on Public Services Chairperson Grace Poe said her committee is set to tackle Senate Bill 1441 to amend the Public Services Act.
The proposed measure seeks to remove the classification of the telecom industry as a public utility that cannot be entirely owned by foreign companies.
Electricity and water supply are also classified as public utilities.
Poe said the bill up for deliberation will lift from the telecommunications industry the 60-40 limit in which Filipinos can own 60 percent of the business while the foreign partner's share of ownership is limited to only 40 percent.
The measure will be heard by the committee once the hearings on the tax reform package and the national budget for next year are finished.
