MANILA, Philippines - The country’s largest business group the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), is pushing for the passage of a competition policy to create an environment that would attract more investments in the country.
PCCI president Alfredo Yao said the Philippine economy would benefit from the enactment of a competition law because it would ensure fair pricing and wider choice of goods in the market, avoid mergers or trade combinations that would exclude weak companies from business, and create a level playing field necessary to attract more foreign direct investments.
An assurance of fair competition would be conducive for the entry of new businesses and expansion of existing companies and lead to employment generation and poverty reduction.
“These potential benefits – innovation, better products and services, more choices, and a more competitive economy - are what we all hope to enjoy as we develop and implement a competition law,†Yao said.
As the country looks to enter international trade agreements, an environment with clear anti-trust rules or a structure for fair competition is necessary.
“The full realization of ASEAN’s (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economic integration and increasing interest to participate in other free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – developments which may require more liberal policies beyond mere deregulation, privatization and removal of reasonable trade barriers – will definitely affect commercial activity,†Yao said.
The ASEAN Economic Community to be in place by December 2015, would allow free flow of goods, services, investments, skilled labor as well as capital within the region.
The RCEP aims to consolidate all ASEAN plus agreements into one regional free trade network by 2015.
The TPP, being negotiated by the US and 11 Pacific countries such as Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, aims to set standards on intellectual property, labor rights and environmental protection for a free trade bloc which would represent more than half of global output and over 40 percent of world trade.
While economic partnership agreements have the potential to generate more investments, these may also bring anti-competitive threats.
“Government must have the ammunition to ensure that it can continue to deliver on the mandate of fostering a competitive market,†Yao said.
Bills seeking to come up with a competition policy and create a commission that would prosecute those engaged in unfair, deceptive and other practices which prevent competition are pending at the Senate and House of Representatives.