Manila: The government is committed to mainstreaming competition policy into its policy architecture, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Wednesday. “This ensures that competition policy becomes part and parcel of the government’s development strategy and does not exist in silo that is divorced from other public policies,” Balisacan said during a webinar hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to Philippines News Agency, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is the government agency tasked to promote economic development and enhance public welfare through free and fair market competition by prohibiting anti-competitive agreements, abuses of dominant position, and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions, and advocating for pro-competition policies. Its mandate includes the review of mergers and acquisitions, investigation and adjudication of antitrust cases, imposition of sanctions and penalties, monitoring the environment for competitio
n-relevant interventions, conducting studies and reports on competition-related matters, issuing advisory opinions, and advocating a pro-competition culture in government and businesses.

Before being appointed as the head of NEDA, Balisacan was the chairperson of the PCC. He emphasized that competition authorities, especially those that have yet to establish a strong track record and enforcement, must acknowledge that they may be considered outsiders in the policy arena. “They must be ready to navigate long-standing networks, especially among regulators and government agencies, and also establish their credibility in dealing with conglomerates to reduce the push back in their efforts to enforce competition policy,” he said.

A report released by the ADB noted the PCC’s success in mainstreaming competition policy in the government’s development agenda. “Together with NEDA, the PCC explicitly identified the development or societal objectives that competition policy is best suited to address, the measurable dev
elopment outcomes (targets) expected from its implementation, and the ways by which the competition policy complements the other policy tools of the government to achieve society’s development goals,” the ADB said. It added that the inclusion of competition policy in the Philippines emphasizes the need for its contribution to the government’s initiative of raising productivity, promoting equality of opportunities, and making economic growth more inclusive.