Guico, Katherine Mae L.

ABPL III

THE NEED FOR A COMPETITION LAW OR ANTI-TRUST LAW IN THE PHILIPPINES

The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche To our ever energetic and supportive professor, Atty. Alvin B. Landicho, and to you, dear and beloved classmates, a blessed afternoon. Amidst the prevailing era of internationalization, humanity is travailing hard with the impact of globalization where the integration of different economies throughout the world has severed the barricades to trade and widely unclogged the marketplace. Despite these facts and before considering globalization, the framers of the law in the Philippines must first draw up our own domestic competition law or policy. By pushing for the enactment of this law, the Filipinos can excel in foreign market competition and the Philippine market will be a sight to behold to foreign market investors. Competition Law refers to the framework of rules and regulations designed to foster the competitive environment in a national economy. This law is crafted to prevent actions that might hurt consumers or unfairly harm other businesses, such as the formation of monopolies, illegal cooperation between competing businesses, and certain mergers between companies. This concept of competition policy or law is not unfamiliar in the Philippines. In fact, our country has a vast range of laws and statutes dealing with the diverse facet of competition law such as the The Consumer Act of the Philippines, The Price Act, The Intellectual Property Code, The Corporation Law of the Philippines, and The Revised Securities Act. Corollary to this, Article 186 of the Revised Penal Code, defines monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade and penalizes anticompetitive behavior that is criminal in nature. Further, Article 28 of the New Civil Code allows the collection of damages arising from unfair competition as

well as abuse of dominant positions by a monopolist. Despite having these laws and statutes, it is ostensible that all we have is a hodge-podge of distinct laws that do not rigidly safeguard the Filipino companies or individuals in the sight of fresh and surfacing monopolies or abusive companies. On July 1, 2010, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile introduced Senate Bill No. 1 or An Act Penalizing Unfair Trade And Anti-Competitive Practices In Restraint Of Trade, Unfair Competition, Abuse Of Dominant Power, Strengthening The Powers Of Regulatory Authorities And Appropriating Funds Therefor, And For Other Purposes, otherwise known as the Competition Act of 2010. In the explanatory note of the aforementioned bill, the good senator enunciated that the Filipinos have been so victimized by big businesses that the Senate deemed it necessary to protect the people from price manipulators through the enactment of this bill into a law. The need for this law, as declared by the Senate President, is sanctioned by our Constitution, specifically Article XII, Section 19 thereof which expressly provides that the State shall regulate and prohibit monopolies when the public interest so requires and that no combinations in restraint of trade or unfair competition shall be allowed. Further, Section 22 of the same article encourages the promulgation of legislation that would impose civil and criminal sanctions against those who circumvent or negate this principle. In connection thereto, President Benigno Noynoy S. Aquino III said in his first State of the Nation Address that it is the governments duty to ensure that the market is fair for all and to fulfill his statist duty as the highest elected official of the land, he believes that he has to put an end to monopolies or cartels in the country. No matter how necessary the enactment of this bill into a law is, there are still bunch of criticisms that are being thrown thereto resulting in its pendency in the Senate. A coin has always two sides and this is the side of the tail. Some Filipinos believe that the Competition Law is a non-objective law that will make big time businessmen criminals basing their belief in the Philosopher Ayn Rands comment in Choose Your Issues, The Objectivist Newsletter. In her comment, the philosopher said that a competition or antitrust law makes a

man a criminal from the moment he enters a business, no matter what he does. For example, if he charges prices as too high, he can be prosecuted for monopoly; if he charges prices lower than those of his competitors, he can be prosecuted for unfair competition; and if he charges the same prices as his competitors, he can be prosecuted for conspiracy. Furthermore, some believe that the proposed competition law is nothing but a replica of three United States antitrust laws namely The Sherman Act, The Clayton Act of 1914 and The Robinson-Patman Act of 1936. Critics suppose that the Philippines is doing again its habit of adopting whatever laws the United States have. Convincing as it may seems, my personal belief is still coinciding with the saying by Herbert Hoover that competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress. With this, the coins head discloses its side. Based on economic principles, competition between enterprises entails lower prices of goods and services for the general public or consumers. It may also stimulate industries to furnish a better quality of goods and services in order to entice customers to patronize said goods and services. In addition, monopolies, being the only sellers of a specific commodity or service, are able to charge consumers with prices higher than the usual without competition laws. Monopolies are curses in the business world. They shout to the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises that the latter cannot aspire to be as powerful as the former and that the fates of these Enterprises are to be gulped by the gluttonous desires of these monopolies. For instance, The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and JG Summit Holdings, Inc. jointly announce that PLDT has successfully completed the acquisition of a majority interest in Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. from JG Summit and other shareholders of Digitel, in a landmark share swap transaction valued at about P69.2 billion. Said acquisition of PLDT, the biggest telecommunications company in the Philippines, of Digitel, the countrys third largest, ignited an even hotter interest for a competition law as PLDT now has a high percentage of tendencies to monopolize the telecommunications field in

the Philippines leaving its competitors at stake. Pursuing for the enactment of this law, domestic and foreign investors will be able to see that the Philippine economy is embracing a fair market competition by not favoring those big, powerful, and influential businesses. Moreover, competition laws are often crafted to hinder competing companies from working together to set prices. After all, companies are not families but are battlefields in a civil war according to Charles Duhigg. With an existing competition law, different enterprises will be motivated to manufacture the best of the best products. Most importantly, competition law will give Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises the opportunity to contribute to the development and progress of our economy by giving them the opportunity to improve the quality of the goods and services that they are offering and in order to give them a huge chance to become one of the giant businesses in the country. For example, Juan Umaasa is an owner and proprietor of Still Hoping or SH Shopping Centers. Like any other enterprises, he aspires that his business would be as popular and influential as SM Supermalls. With a competition law, Still Hoping Shopping Centers will have a great chance to contribute to the continuing progress of our economy by producing quality goods and rendering exceptional services. Sooner or later, it is not out of sight that it can be as popular and influential as SM Supermalls. Still Hoping will no longer hope as it could already be the Survivors Heritage Supermalls. In light of all the foregoing, competition law is indeed in its prime as an intrinsic part of economic reform programs of developing economies like the Philippines. As Filipinos reckon more on market mechanism and less on government intervention to attain economic success, we need a comprehensive and sound competition law to guarantee that the market runs virtually and gives birth to a more efficient economy. Time will come that some businesses in our country will not just look up to those who soar high, but will be flying with them, exhilarated to reach progress in the highest pursuit of both individual and economic development.