EDITORIAL - Outright ban not a good idea

A group of contactors is opposing the bill by Valenzuela City Rep. Weslie Gatchalian that proposes to allow foreign contractors --even those totally owned by foreigners -- to enter the local construction industry.

According to Dino Suelto of the Davao Constructors Association, a regional group of the Philippine Constructors Association, the entry of foreign contractors will mean the end for local contractors as well as the more than four million Filipinos currently employed in the industry.

Maybe an outright ban on foreign contractors isn’t good. One thing we want to keep alive is healthy competition. Competition leads to more negotiable prices. It can also motivate our local industry to strive to be at par with foreign counterparts. In the long run everyone wins.

Then there may be some projects that foreign contractors are familiar with and already have experience constructing. We are talking about really huge projects like bridges spanning islands, multi-level overpasses, and the like. We are also referring to projects that are common in developed countries with complex infrastructure but are not so typical, or totally nonexistent, here.

Now here comes Senate Majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri who also seeks to limit the entry of foreign contractors here. But unlike an outright ban, Zubiri proposes that foreign contractors should only be prevented from bidding for projects costing less than P2 billion. Any project above this amount should be fair game.

Zubiri’s idea seems to be more sensible than an outright ban.

Another thing; local contractors also need not fear. There will always be a need for them. People, especially those with a budget, will not immediately run to the big foreign companies for their projects but ask around for the local guys. And if Zubiri’s proposal pushes through, anything under P2 billion should only be available for local contractors.

One thing we agree with Suelto though is that Filipinos must never be deprived of job opportunities. If there are foreign contractors that want to work here, the bulk of their workforce for the project should be our construction workers and not their own.

Unless we have forgotten, many of our workers here have experience doing construction projects all over the world; they can rival the best when it comes to this field.

So, yes, instead of banning foreign contractors outright they should be limited to construction projects over a certain amount. And make sure they hire our workers for their projects here.