Regulator seeking power to order GOCC restructuring

THE Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GCG) said it is proposing that it be given the authority to restructure companies that it oversees.

In a statement outlining its proposals to amend its charter on Tuesday, the GCG said the authority it is seeking would give it “the express power to consolidate, rationalize, and integrate GOCCs into National Government agencies (NGAs).”

It said it will also propose to Congress that it be given the power to issue subpoenas or cite respondents in contempt.

“In the performance of its duties and functions during the past years, several issues have been raised regarding the scope and even legality of the GCG’s powers and functions under its charter,” the GCG said on Tuesday.

The commission said the power to impose various forms of discipline on the GOCCs will “strengthen its oversight powers.”

GCG Chairperson Alex L. Quiroz, a former Sandiganbayan justice, said the proposals will take the form of amendments to Republic Act No. (RA) 10149, or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.

“In order to efficiently operate as a regulatory body for the GOCC sector, RA 10149 is proposed to be amended to address issues and clarify and strengthen the powers and functions of the GCG.”

The GCG also “seeks to be granted the authority to determine the appropriate incentive programs for all employees affected by any rationalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, integration into an NGA, abolition, or privatization of GOCCs.”

Mr. Quiroz noted that some GOCCs’ operations are “duplicative of what is already being carried out by NGAs or other GOCCs.”

“We can recommend to the Office of the President that it would be economical for those GOCCs which are not financially viable, but are performing vital public service, to be converted into or transferred to NGAs,” he added.

The GCG said draft bills that are being submitted to Congress also address its proposed amendments. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson