The government is committed to mainstreaming competition policy into its policy architecture, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Wednesday.

“This ensures that competition policy becomes part and parcel of the government’s development strategy and does not exist in silo that is divorced from other public policies,” Balisacan said during a webinar hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In the Philippines, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is the government agency tasked to promote economic development and enhance public welfare through free and fair market competition by prohibiting anti-competitive agreements, abuses of dominant position, and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions, and advocating for pro-competition policies.

Its mandate includes among others the review of mergers and acquisitions; investigation and adjudication of antitrust cases; imposition of sanctions and penalties; monitoring the environment for competition-relevant interventions; conduct, publication, and dissemination of studies and reports on competition-related matters; issuance of advisory opinions; and advocating pro-competition culture in government and businesses.

Before being appointed as the head of NEDA, Balisacan was the chairperson of the PCC.

Balisacan said competition authorities, especially those that have yet to establish a strong track record and enforcement, must acknowledge that they may be considered outsiders in the policy arena.

“They must be ready to navigate long standing networks, especially among regulators and government agencies, and also establish their credibility in dealing with conglomerates to reduce the push back and their efforts to enforce competition policy,” he said.

A report released by the ADB, meanwhile, said the PCC was able to mainstream competition policy in the government’s development agenda.

“Together with NEDA, the PCC explicitly identified the development or societal objectives that competition policy is best suited to address, the measurable development outcomes (targets) expected from its implementation, and the ways by which the competition policy complements the other policy tools of the government to achieve society’s development goals,” the ADB said.

“Considering that the Philippines is a developing country, the inclusion of competition policy serves to underscore the need for its contribution to the government’s thrust of raising productivity, promoting equality of opportunities, and making economic growth more inclusive,” it added. (PNA)