Business, labor push for fair competition legislation

MEMBERS of the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) and other business groups are pushing for the passage of a bill that would promote fair competition among the country’s industries. In a forum held at the Sulo Reviera Hotel in Quezon City on Friday, the FTA and various stakeholders expressed support for the passage of the “Philippine Fair Competition Act of 2011,” which aims to penalize anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant power, and anti-competitive mergers.

“There should be a law that would attempt to include all possible aspects of competition to prevent corporations from eating out smaller competitions and stop unfair business practices in the country,” said
Lawyer Tony Salvador of the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (Ideals).

Salvador is confident that before the end of the first quarter, both the House of Representatives and the Senate would come up a single legislation that would tackle the country’s competition policy.

Antitrust regulation or competition policy in the country is not a new concept since vestiges of antitrust provisions of the United States have found its way in the Constitution and some Philippine statutes.

While the country has yet to have a comprehensive and coherent competition policy, certain provisions are scattered among different legislative enactments.

One of the major issues discussed during the forum was the creation of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), which will have the exclusive jurisdiction to enforce, implement, and administer the provisions of the Act.

“The Philippines has an inadequate competition policy in place, and has no single agency handling such cases. The creation of a central enforcement agency or a quasi-judicial body would be a vital piece in leveling the playing field,” Salvador said.

But the establishment of such regulatory body would also mean redefining the powers of existing regulatory bodies such as the Sugar Regulatory Administration, National Telecommunications Commission, Department of Energy, National Food Authority, and others.

Members of the FTA also pushed for the inclusion of “monopsony” in the provision of the law to regulate trade and commerce by preventing unlawful restraints, price-fixing of quality goods and services.

Monopsony is a market form in which only one buyer faces many sellers. It is an example of imperfect competition, similar to a monopoly, in which only one seller faces many buyers.

As the only purchaser of a good or service, the “monopsonist” may dictate terms to its suppliers, in the same manner that a monopolist controls the market for its buyers.

With the passing of the bill, the FTA hopes to eliminate such practice to promote competition and to encourage the production of quality goods and services at the lowest prices. –JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ, Manila Times