PRESS RELEASE 2019-012
12 September 2019

PCC takes ‘culture of competition’ advocacy
to next wave cities: Legazpi, Iloilo, GenSan

LEGAZPI CITY—The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has trained its sights on key next wave cities for its Regional Roadshow and Campus Tours this year, apprising local stakeholders of the fundamentals of competition policy and prohibited business conduct under the Philippine Competition Act.

The “Mainstreaming National Competition Law: Regional Roadshows on the Philippine Competition Act for Local Stakeholders” is a three-city roadshow that officially kicked off on August 27-30 in Iloilo City for Visayas, followed by the Legazpi run on September 10-13 for Luzon, and will conclude in General Santos City on September 18-20 for the Mindanao leg.

The PCC was created in 2016 tasked to implement the competition law. As an independent and quasi-judicial agency, it is mandated to prohibit agreements, conduct and merger transactions that are found to substantially lessen competition. It can open and investigate cases, approve or block merger transactions, and decide on penalties of up to P250 Million imposed on anticompetitive conduct by errant firms.

“The next wave cities are considered among the most competitive cities in the country. What we want to see is that local governments—with the assistance of the regional and provincial offices of national government agencies—ensure a level playing field for big and small players in their local economies. With competition, consumers stand to benefit from more choices, lower prices, and higher quality products,“ said Arnold Tenorio, PCC Director for Communications and Knowledge Management.

The PCC notes that the city of Legazpi and neighboring Naga ranked No. 1 and 2 Most Competitive Cities, respectively, under the Component City Category of the National Competitive Index. On the other hand, Iloilo bagged the Most Improved local government unit under the Highly Urbanized City category, while General Santos City was named most 9^thMost Improved local government unit in a region recovering from security woes.

The PCC considers competitiveness as an indirect indicator of the degree of competition in an economy, with competition as key driver of competitiveness.

“Every city manages its local economy where its competitiveness score card translates to decisions by investors who want to enter and compete in that market. With the competition law in place, businesses play to their strengths and contribute to their cities’ competitiveness performance,” Director Tenorio said.

In Iloilo City, Mayor Jerry Treñas, who was one of the authors of the competition law in the previous Congress, renewed his support for the competition law by applying it to his city.

In Legazpi City, from the office of Mayor Hon. Noel E. Rosal, City Administrator Mr.  Carlos Ante, together with DTI Region V Director Jocelyn LB. Blanco and NEDA Regional Director Agnes M. Espinas-Tolentino took part in the forum in support of PCC’s advocacy.

The roadshow offers a public forum and campus tour to draw local businesses, legal circles, the academe and local government offices to be involved in the information drive.

The PCC has since organized similar forums in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan De Oro, La Union, Baguio, and Tacloban, among others.