PCC gets more teeth under Federal charter

The anti-trust body Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) will play an active role in the proposed federal government after the Consultative Committee (ConCom) President Rodrigo Duterte tasked to review the 1987 Charter made it a constitutional commission with powers to “break up” monopolies and cartels.

Consultative Committee spokesperson Ding Generoso revealed the PCC’s new role in line with the approved draft federal constitution which aims to “liberalize the economy” and “make sure that no single businessman or family can again control an industry.”

Generoso said when the PCC is elevated to a Constitutional commission, it will have the power to go after and break up cartels and monopolies, noting that it will also be authorized to inspect mergers and acquisitions.

“We will have to do that so that we can be very sure that when companies merge, there won’t be one company controlling an industry,” Generoso said.

Created by the Philippine Competition Act in 2014, the PCC is an independent quasi-judicial body that regulates anti-competitive conduct. It recently partnered with the Department of Justice (DoJ) to intensify the campaign against anticompetitive behavior and ensure enforcement of competition law.

The partnership, according to the PCC, will play an important role in the agency’s leniency program, which would give an “incentive” for whistle blowers to speak up and it will ensure that the DoJ will grant whistle blowers with the same incentive that the PCC will give.

Generoso said that he is optimistic the PCC will be a vital instrument to make sure that Filipino consumers will not suffer in the long run.

“If this pushes through and the federal competition commission is created, that commission will now have awesome powers to look into all kinds of transactions, to make sure that we, the Filipino consumers, do not suffer,” said Generoso.