The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) will implement game-changing measures in the remaining part of the year as part of its mandate of promoting and protecting fair competition.
In a press conference, Johaness Bernabe, PCC officer-in-charge, said the agency will come out with a new threshold amount for mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions for review; a set of guidelines covering internet service providers (ISPs) in real estate developments and; a new tool against bid-rigging.
Bernabe said the new thresholds, to be released by September, will take into consideration adjustments on inflation, the nominal GDP growth from the previous years because of the various geopolitical factors as well as the pandemic.
Bernabe said the old size of transaction threshold was set at P2.4 billion and the size of party was pegged at P6 billion. These were set in March 2020.
Bernabe added the PCC has been working with other agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Telecommunication Commission and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development in crafting the guidelines.
The guidelines, he said, will ensure ISPs are not denied access into property developments for purposes of providing the services or establishing the necessary facilities.
He said the NTC has provided inputs in terms of requiring bandwidth and the minimum speed depending on the density of the property.
Still, Bernabe said PCC will continue with its investigation of cases that are subject of complaints by tenants or unit owners or consumers who are affected by exclusivity arrangements.
He cited the successful settlement decision with Urban Deca– whose exclusive arrangement with an ISP was found to be detrimental to the needs of unit owners in its properties – which resulted in the termination of these exclusivity arrangements.
Commissioner Marah Victoria Querol said the PCC targets to release the guidelines on ISPs by the third quarter.
“The objective is to ensure the ease of entering ISP providers in the market…to ensure good competition. We require that there is at least one or more ISP provider in the market. A healthy competition in this market will improve not only the services but also the prices,” Querol said.
On bid rigging , Christian Delos Santos, OIC-director of the PCC Competition Office, said they will come out with a screening tool, a program that analyzes data on the parameters that will show the probability of a violation or red flags in auctions.
He said the PCC hopes to finish the screening tool within the year. Irma Isip
