Foreign group raises concern on delayed release of car plates

MANILA, Philippines - The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has expressed renewed concern over the stability and predictability of doing business in the Philippines amid the delay in the release of license plates by the Land Transportation Office.

In a statement issued yesterday, the foreign business group hit the country’s ability to provide stability, citing the challenges being faced by the contract awarded by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to JKG-Power Plates which won the bidding for LTO’s motor vehicle license plate standardization program.

“It is simply unfathomable that the common principle of sanctity of contract can be completely disregarded here. How can the country attract foreign investors if even a signed contract offers no assurance that the other party, in this case the government, will respect it,” ECCP vice president Henry Schumacher said.

The DOTC signed a five-year contract with JKG-Power Plates last year for the supply of vehicle license plates worth P3.18 billion.

According to the ECCP,  JKG-Power Plates, a joint venture between a Dutch firm and a Filipino company, has already delivered plates worth P620.35 million but was only paid P477.90 million because the Commission on Audit  disallowed additional disbursements for the project in July.

COA’s disallowance of additional disbursements on the project came at the heels of  a Supreme Court decision on a petition for certiorari and prohibition relating to the procurement of the LTO motor vehicle license plate standardization program.

The Supreme Court ruled that the petition has been rendered moot and academic and that any defect in the procurement process has been cured, the ECCP said.

“Again, it is difficult to understand why we cannot rely on the strength of a decision of the highest court of the land. Can COA overrule or disregard a decision of the Supreme Court,” Schumacher said.

Schumacher said none of the alleged defects in the procurement process is attributable to the foreign supplier, and yet it is the company and the public who are suffering the consequences.

The ECCP official stressed that the business community already warned that such uncertainty and unpredictability of policies in the country could scare off new investments.

“This will dilute the efforts of foreign chambers like the ECCP in promoting the Philippines as an investment hub in Asia,” he said.