BusinessMirror November 29, 2020

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A broader look at today’s business n

Sunday, November 29, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 52

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DIGITAL BOOSTERS Six key pieces of legislation are what it would take to help along the fast-tracked march to a digital economy, according to Neda experts

A

By Cai U. Ordinario

MENDING and passing six key pieces of legislation would boost the country’s digital economy, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), as the country’s digitization was forced to take the fast track by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Voting 232 affirmative and 6 negative with no abstention, lawmakers approved House Bill 7805 to curb the prevalence of online scams. The bill will now be transmitted to the Senate for its own deliberations. House Committee on Trade and Industry Chairman Wes Gatchalian, sponsor of the bill, said HB 7805 will protect consumers and merchants engaged in Internet transactions by creating the Electronic Commerce Bureau. In terms of the PSA, Ganapin said the amendments aim to focus on the definition of public utility to only three main industries: distribution of electricity, transmission of electricity, and water pipeline distribution system or sewerage pipeline system. This will enable a higher foreign equity participation of over 40 percent in other key areas such as

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.1020

BAŞAK KABADAYI | DREAMSTIME.COM

In a recent presentation, the Trade, Services and Industry Staff (TSIS) Officer in Charge of the Neda, Bien A. Ganapin, said these measures are “urgently needed” to help the country better fare in the new and digital normal. He listed them as the Public Service Act (PSA); Open Access in Data Transmission Act; E-Commerce Act of 2000; Internet Transactions Act; National Digital Careers Act of 2020; and the National Digital Transformation. “[These are] among the policies that are urgently needed, at least what the Philippine Development Plan and Neda, including all other agencies, are trying to push forward,” Ganapin said in the Neda’s forum on the digital economy. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the proposed Internet Transactions Act (ITA).

HOUSE Committee on Trade and Industry Chairman Wes Gatchalian: “E-commerce will be the new normal, but unfortunately, regulations to protect consumers and businesses from unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of this borderless economy are inadequate.”

telecommunication and transportation services.

Level the playing field

FOR the Open Access in Data Transmission Act (HB 57), Ganapin said, this will level the playing field in the data transmission and telecommunications market. The passage of the bill will strengthen the value chain linkages

in the industry and services sectors and facilitate the realization of the full potential of e-commerce and digital trade. The E-Commerce Act of 2000, meanwhile, needs to be revisited to make the law more comprehensive in its coverage of e-commerce transactions and the rights of consumers. The law should be strengthened with the imposition of pen-

alties on service providers and requiring them to put in place high-security measures against breaches on data processing and financial transactions. The Internet Transactions Act (HB 6122), Ganapin said, will define the scope and coverage of Internet transactions, apart from the sale or exchange of digital products, and lays down the code of conduct and

qualifications for businesses who wish to engage in e-commerce. Rep. Gatchalian said the ecommerce bureau that ITA will create will be the “central authority” tasked to regulate online trade and shall act as a virtual one-stop shop for consumer complaints on Internet transactions. The bill seeks to regulate all business-to-business and businessto-consumer commercial transactions conducted over the Internet, including those related to Internet retail, online travel, online media, ride-hailing services, and digital financial services. “E-commerce will be the new normal, but unfortunately, regulations to protect consumers and businesses from unscrupulous Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4614 n UK 64.2739 n HK 6.2061 n CHINA 7.3169 n SINGAPORE 35.9372 n AUSTRALIA 35.4079 n EU 57.3232 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8269

Source: BSP (November 27, 2020)

GOUGNAF16 | DREAMSTIME.COM

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