House ratifies bill demolishing monopolies
After eight Congresses, the House of Representatives on Wednesday night ratified a bill demolishing monopolies in the country.
The “Philippine Competition Act” was ratified in the plenary by voice voting a day before Congress goes on sine die break.
The bill is a priority legislation. It will now go to the President for his veto or approval.
This as its Senate counterpart also ratified the bill after both Houses of Congress consolidated their versions of the bill in a bicameral conference.
The bill hurdled second reading in the House on May 12 following the death due to aneurysm of its sponsor, Tarlac Representative Enrique Cojuangco.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has vowed for the passage of the bill under the 16th Congress after it has languished in the chamber since the 8th Congress, which started in 1987.
The bill, which is mainly authored by Belmonte himself, seeks to encourage fair and free economic competition by prohibiting the abuse of market position as well as the concentration of economic power on select businesses.
The bill seeks to create a Philippine Competition Commission as an independent quasi-judicial body under the Office of the President, which will implement a national competition policy and monitor violations of the law.
