Challenges for new competition body

It was in his first State of the Nation Address in July 2010 where President Aquino put emphasis on the country’s need to adopt a clear-cut competition policy: “It is the government’s duty to ensure that the market is fair for all. No monopolies, no cartels that kill competition. We need an antitrust law that will give life to these principles.”

In July 2015, the President signed into law Republic Act No. 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act. As the law mandates, a new office, the Philippine Competition Commission, has been created with Arsenio M. Balisacan as chair.

Balisacan has been the socioeconomic planning secretary and National Economic and Development Authority director general since May 2012. He was the first chair of the Philippine Statistics Authority Board and the Public-Private Partnership Center Board. He was also the chair of the board of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Center for Economic Development, and the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute. Prior to his appointment to Neda, Balisacan served as dean of and professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics, and as undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture.

Apart from his proven integrity, Balisacan’s economics background will go a long way in helping frame the enforcement of the newly approved Philippine Competition Law. The position is certainly challenging as it entails probing cartel behavior and instituting economic measures to regulate the behavior and the conduct of businesses.

The new commission will also benefit from the appointment of lawyer Johannes Bernabe as one of its commissioners. Prior to the enactment of RA 10667, he actively participated in the related congressional hearings and various fora (organized by civil society organizations).

RA 10667 is designed to prevent or control “trusts” such as monopolies, with the view of promoting business and market competition, which is seen to be more favorable for consumers as producers are not able to control the prices of goods and services.

The competition policy has five goals: (a) promote economic efficiency, (b) correct market failures, (c) promote competitiveness in both foreign and domestic markets, (d) achieve higher economic growth and (e) enhance consumer welfare.

—ANTONIO SALVADOR, board of trustee, Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (Ideals), ideals05@yahoo.com