Philippine Competition Act

The Philippine Competition Act (Republic Act No. 10667) was signed into law by President Benigno S. Aquino III on July 21, 2015 and established the quasi-judicial Philippine Competition Commission to enforce the act.[1][2][3][4] The act is intended to ensure efficient and fair market competition among businesses engaged in trade, industry, and all commercial economic activities.[3] It prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuses of dominant positions, and mergers and acquisitions that limit, prevent, and restrict competition.[5]

History

A comprehensive competition law was first proposed in the late 1980s during the administration of President Cory Aquino.[5]

The Philippines was the only country in ASEAN without a competition law and the integration of ASEAN into a single market was an impetus to pass the act.[5]

Philippine Competition Commission

The Philippine Competition Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial body created to enforce the act. It is attached to the Office of the President of the Philippines.[6] Five commissioners were appointed to the Philippine Competition Commission and sworn in on January 27, 2015:[7]

  • Arsenio Balisacan (Chairperson)
  • Stella Alabastro-Quimbo
  • Johannes Bernabe
  • Elcid Butuyan
  • Menardo Guevarra

Arsenio Balisacan resigned from his post as Philippine Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority to lead the Philippine Competition Commission.[3] Guevarra left the Commission after he was appointed Senior Deputy Executive Secretary. He was replaced by lawyer Amabelle Asuncion.

References
  1. Viray, Patricia Lourdes (25 January 2016). "NEDA chief to head new Philippine Competition Commission". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. Venzon, Cliff (26 January 2016). "Aquino appoints new antitrust enforcer". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Inc. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  3. "NEDA statement on Balisacan move to Competition Commission". BusinessWorld. BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  4. "Republic Act No. 10667 - Philippine Competition Act". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  5. Schnabel, Chris (July 13, 2015). "What consumers need to know about the PH Competition Act". Rappler. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  6. Bacani, Louis (July 21, 2015). "PNoy OKs landmark Philippine Competition Act, Cabotage Law amendments". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  7. Sabillo, Kristine Angeli (27 January 2016). "Balisacan takes oath as competition commission head". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 28 January 2016.


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