Anti-competitive agreements under new competition act

Republic act No. 10667, also known as the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), was passed on 21 July 2015. The law aims to safeguard market competition in the Philippines by punishing acts that have negative direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effects on competition in the country.

The PCA prohibits, among other things, agreements that are considered under the law to be anti-competitive. Such agreements are not limited to written or formal agreements – the law covers any type or form of contract, arrangement, understanding, collective recommendation, or concerted action. Hence, an agreement does not have to be embodied in a written contract for the PCA to apply.

Three subsections

Anti-competitive agreements are covered under section 14 of the PCA. Section 14 is further divided into three subsections. Knowing the subsection an agreement falls under is important in determining the possible consequences of entering such agreements, and whether the agreement is per se prohibited, or whether it may be justified by procompetitive benefits in the form of efficiency gains that benefit consumers.

Korina Ana T Manibog is an associate in the corporate and special projects department at ACCRA Law Offices