The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is backing the immediate enactment of bills on fair competition and amendments on the cabotage law, which were both approved by the House of Representatives last week.
DTI Liaison Office for Legislative Affairs Supervising Undersecretary Prudencio M. Reyes Jr. said in a statement that the passage of both bills will significantly improve the business climate in the Philippines.
House Bill (HB) 5286, also known as the Philippine Competition Act, creates a legal and institutional framework to prevent abuse of market power and dominance aimed at protecting consumers and promoting healthy growth of industries.
A key proposal to this bill is the creation of an independent Philippine Competition Commission, which would keep an eye on business entities to ensure that they do not collectively engage in anticompetitive acts and practices, such as cartelization, collusion, bid rigging and price fixing.
The proposed commission will be given the power to review applications for mergers and acquisitions. The proposed bill will be applicable across-the-board, covering all entities engaging in economic activities across all sectors, no matter their legal form.
For HB 5610, which seeks to amend the country’s set of laws and policies on cabotage, the bill will allow foreign ships to dock at multiple ports, as well as to embark on co-loading, that will enable the transfer of foreign cargoes (including empty containers) from one foreign vessel to another, prohibited under existing laws.
However, the bill does not touch on domestic fleets, as it would require an amendment of the Constitution to do so.
“Nevertheless, the bill is still critical to the economy at large,” Reyes said, despite the absence of provisions on domestic fleets.
“It will be beneficial not only in terms of enhancing the competitiveness of our importers and exporters, but also in encouraging small and medium enterprises to take advantage of opportunities in the international market as significant reduction to shipping cost is expected upon its enactment,” Reyes added.
Incidentally, shipping remains to serve as the backbone of trade. According to the Philippine Statistical Yearbook 2013, about 99.8% (198,126,883 MT) of the total merchandise trade is carried through maritime transport.
Both bills have been passed earlier in the Senate. The Bicameral conference committee is set to meet anytime soon that shall facilitate its final approval/enactment by President Aquino targeted before his last state of the nation address in July.