The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) hosted the 2026 Manila Forum on Competition in Developing Countries on February 2-3 in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. Coinciding with the PCC’s 10th anniversary, the two-day forum brought together local and global experts to reflect on how competition enforcement can be institutionalized to meet the challenges of the digital economy while advancing inclusive growth and innovation.
In his welcoming remarks, PCC Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo underscored the need for resilient institutions capable of adapting competition enforcement to digital and data-driven markets. “For developing economies, resource constraints and uneven institutional maturity compound the challenges of digitalization. Competition policy must align with broader development objectives while remaining credible and effective,” he said, stressing that fair market competition must ultimately work for the people who need it most.
The program also featured a message from Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development, who served as the PCC’s founding Chairperson. He emphasized the government’s role in strengthening the foundations of digital transformation, including connectivity, energy, and regulatory reforms, while highlighting the importance of building institutions that can respond effectively to emerging challenges such as artificial intelligence.
Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, co-author and sponsor of the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), reaffirmed the enduring relevance of the PCA in protecting consumers and promoting a vibrant, competitive economy.
Drawing on over two decades of experience in competition economics, Dr. Benoît Durand, Partner at RBB Economics, delivered the keynote address. He stressed the importance of institutionalizing antitrust that goes beyond passing laws, the need to build durable institutions that safeguard consumers and businesses, embed competition policy into the state’s legal and administrative fabric, and ensure continuous market monitoring. Without this, enforcement risks becoming uneven and vulnerable to short-term priorities, weakening competition and growth.
Over two days, economists, legal experts, competition authorities, and representatives from sector regulators examined how competition policy can foster sustained innovation, adapt legal frameworks to local contexts, revisit the role of economics in enforcement, build synergies with sectoral regulators, and chart regional pathways for institutional resilience. International speakers from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, Trade Competition Commission of Thailand, and the Competition Authority of Kenya joined Philippine leaders from government, academia, and industry in exploring solutions to emerging challenges in digital and traditional markets.
The Manila Forum is a flagship platform of the PCC, fostering dialogue among competition authorities, regulators, industry experts, policymakers, and the academe. This year’s edition underscored the Commission’s commitment to advancing competition enforcement as a driver of innovation, consumer welfare, and inclusive growth in the Philippines and across developing economies. PR