THE HEAD of the Office for Competition (OFC) has reiterated the need for more comprehensive and simplified competition policies and laws (CPL), saying that achieving this is a key step in bringing about "economic justice.”
Department of Justice Assistant Secretary and OFC chair Geronimo L. Sy said: "Economic justice should take center stage in our national consciousness. Simplification of laws, rules, and policies is a step,” Mr. Sy told BusinessWorld in a text message.
Mr. Sy, who was making his remarks on the occasion of the third National Competition Day, is the first chair of the DoJ-attached agency formed in 2011. The OFC is mandated to enforce competition law in aid of preventing monopolies, cartels and combinations in restraint of trade.
Mr. Sy has taken the position that CPL needs to be streamlined from the current patchwork of rules to be found in the Price Law, Patent Law, Trademark Law, Property Code, and Consumer Act.
A United Nations Conference on Trade and Agreement (UNCTAD) report in mid-July cited the ongoing pursuits of the OFC, and called on the agency to proceed with the development of a complaint-handling and reporting scheme in order to build public confidence.
Mr. Sy said a series of conferences will highlight the government’s efforts in enforcing competition policy, noting that the first National Competition Conference, to be held on Dec. 9 at the Philippine International Convention Center, will be keynoted by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III.
Mr. Sy said the forum will focus on competition and regulatory policies in the energy, transportation, and telecommunications sectors.
For her part, Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima said the creation of the OFC has helped the government fulfill its mandate of restraining anticompetitive practices.
"Through CPL enforcement, we can put an end to the anticompetitive practices of greedy businesses,” Ms. de Lima said in a statement.
The OFC took the lead in investigating the spike in garlic prices this year, finding that most of the garlic imports were cornered by some individuals.
"We will continue to investigate and prosecute offenders and advocate for reforms in order to achieve effective competition in the markets,” Ms. de Lima said.
For her part, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares agreed on the need "to consolidate, rationalize, and harmonize those existing policies, and more importantly, make it clear, comprehensive, and specific.”
The BIR, together with the Department of Trade and Industry and Philippine Institute of Development Studies, are partner institutions of the DOJ-OFC in celebrating National Competition Day. --
