Con-com eyes body to go after cartels in draft Charter

A subpanel of the Consultative Committee (Con-com) reviewing the 1987 Constitution is eyeing a federal competition body that would restrict monopolies, oligopolies and cartels in the country’s trade and commerce.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Con-com economic reforms subcommittee chair Arthur Aguilar said that there was a need to create a competition authority “under a federal setup wherein federated regions will have economic power.”

Aguilar noted that while there was already a Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), it was only created by law and is not provided under the current 1987 Constitution.

“It will have powers strong enough to go after monopolies, oligopolies, cartels and practices that restrain trade and commerce, deny competition, upset free-market structures, impose market domination or perpetrate rent-seeking behavior,” Aguilar said.

“If we are to liberalize the economy, we have to make sure that there will be fair and healthy competition and no players will be allowed to dominate any industry or market,” he said.

Aguilar said they would propose a “one competition policy” and competition authority at the federal level.

However, the proposals would be implemented with a national-scope mandate, powers and functions and with the status of an independent constitutional office or body that is “insulated from political pressure and influence.”

“This means the federated regions cannot formulate their own competition policy or create their own competition authority,” he said.

But Aguilar said their technical working group has yet to formulate the exact wording of these provisions for submission to the Con-com en banc next week.  /muf