PCC to unlock ‘protected’ sectors

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The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is focusing its work on seven sectors to unlock their full potential long protected by regulation.

Arsenio Balisacan, PCC chairman, in the agency’s annual report for 2019 said it will center its competition analysis and advocacy initiatives this year on the following: telecommunications, energy, retail, construction, transportation, food, and health and pharmaceuticals.

Balisacan said these are key sectors that are critical to the lives of Filipino consumers.
These sectors have also been identified by PCC as priority areas for legislative advocacy and reforms.

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In fact 2019, the PCC had pursued the investigation of alleged anti-competition issues in the rice and energy markets.

PCC will also explore expanding its mandate to include consumer protection, recognizing the complementarity between competition and consumer protection work. The Commission plans to formally propose to Congress amendments to the PCA to address significant issues that have emerged during its first three years of operationalization. The amendments are aimed at strengthening PCC’s mandate and operations, keeping in mind that actions in its early years spell the basis for future enforcement actions. The proposed amendments will include raising the amount of pecuniary penalties, and reinforcing its primary and original jurisdiction over all competition cases.

On enforcement, PCC said the Commission is now more equipped to exercise its full investigative powers following leniency and dawn raids added to the agency’s armory of enforcement tools.

“The PCC’s topmost priority is to effectively investigate anti-competitive agreements and conduct, bearing in mind that effective deterrence requires not only the threat of penalties but also effective detection and prosecution of infringements,” Balisacan said.

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