Legislators in the bicameral committee that hammered out the version which Duterte signed, however, inserted this provision, without consulting the antitrust body. The Inquirer learned that the PCC got wind of this only a few days before the bill got ratified back in August.
Interestingly, a similar provision could be found in another economic stimulus bill that got passed in the House, but not in the Senate. This was in the P1.3 trillion stimulus bill called Arise, or the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines. “Experience suggests that antitrust policies must not be set aside at a time when economic crisis looms large. Consolidation, or mergers and acquisitions of firms, is particularly regulated under the PCA precisely because of the lessons learned from global economic history,” it read.“A crisis is temporary, and consolidations seeking to save the industry may create greater consumer injury in the long run.
Out of more than 200 M&As that the PCC reviewed in the past four years, only 14 were worth above P50 billion. Moreover, none of these 14 deals were considered harmful, or anticompetitive in competition jargon, the expert said. “I think what the law is trying to accomplish by this provision is to fast-track the business consolidation so that those who are going bankrupt or find it difficult to survive because of the quarantine won’t have to close shop. They’ll have a white knight that will save their operations,” the expert said.
By the time the PCC can act again, these companies that ate up their competitors through unchecked M&As would already have a bigger slice of the market, the expert said. Then, they would be in a stronger position to dictate prices, or make the environment difficult for new competitors to enter.
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