TO strengthen its “institutional capacity” in its competition policy enforcement and advocacy, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is planning to set up “investigation hubs” in Cebu and Davao in 2021.

By 2022, these investigation hubs are planned to be transformed into PCC regional offices, according to PCC Chairman Arsenio Balisacan.

PCC is an independent quasi-judicial body mandated to implement the national competition policy and enforce Republic Act No. 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), the country’s primary competition policy for promoting and protecting the competitive market.

According to PCC, the PCA will “protect the well-being of consumers and preserve the efficiency of competition in the marketplace.” After languishing in Congress for 24 years, the law was passed in 2015.

“Enforcement of the PCA will help ensure that markets are open and free, challenging anticompetitive business practices while maintaining an environment where businesses can compete based on the quality of their work,” said PCC on its website.

The agency said that “a competitive market means a market with multiple buyers and multiple sellers, driving market prices lower and offering consumers more choices. A truly competitive market encourages efficiency and innovation, and forces businesses to excel.”

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