BY SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – International experts urged the Philippines to promulgate a comprehensive competition law which applies to all sectors of the economy and with minimal exemptions.
There must also be a transparent, independent and well-funded regulatory authority which has access to a full-range of enforcement options to ensure compliance, they added.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva reviewed the Philippines’ Competition Law and Policy as a component of the 14th Session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) Meeting on Competition Law and Policy recently.
“This peer review can help us determine what exactly are the systemic issues and critical constraints that any jurisdiction, whether competition authority or otherwise, would be facing or has been faced up to,” said Department of Justice (DOJ) assistant secretary and head of the Office for Competition (OFC), Geronimo Sy.
Sy headed the Philippine delegation to the 14th Session of the IGE.
When the Philippines signed up for the voluntary peer review, it was in the context of specifically engaging UNCTAD as a mechanism for an up-close and personal feel on how the UN multilateral instrument can work for individual countries, especially on a very specialized topic, such as competition policy and law, said Sy.
As a follow up to the peer review report, UNCTAD prepared a three-year Technical Assistance Project Proposal for the Philippines, which begins in 2015.
Its overall objective is to create a well-functioning market economy conducive to enterprise development, economic growth and improved consumer welfare.
The project proposal will help enable the DOJ-OFC enhance its effectiveness and efficiency in competition law enforcement and improve business environment towards inclusive development of the country.
Sy said the project’s specific activities for capacity-building include providing training on competition law and policy and investigation techniques for the DOJ-OFC staff, and training for the judiciary on competition law enforcement.
Establishing mechanisms is also important to promote mutual understanding and improve cooperation between DOJ-OFC and other government institutions, including sector regulators and academe, he said.
Hence, the project proposes the conduct of advocacy seminars on the role of competition law and its benefits for the economy and consumers for government officials, consumer associations, the business community, academics, lawyers and judiciary./PN
