Fair competition: An idea whose time has come

What businessmen have been saying all along is that they want a level playing field.

But what does this really mean?

It means there should be no price fixing, price manipulation, monopolies and other practices that allow one business to enjoy undue advantage over another.

That's the intent of the Fair Competition Act passed recently by the House of Representatives on third and final reading.

What's significant about this is that it took so long—over two decades—to get it past the legislative mill. The original bill was proposed way back during the Cory Aquino presidency, during the Eight Congress. We're now in the 16th Congress, if you must know.

House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. has been quoted in news reports as saying that "this is a piece of legislation that is very much needed."      We agree.

The Senate approved its version of the measure on December 15 last year, and it’s now up to a bicameral conference committee to reconcile the two bills.

We're glad that local and foreign business groups pushed for the passage of the bill. We really need to have a level playing field for business.

Once the consolidated bill is signed into law, a Philippine Competition Commission would be established and vested with the power to investigate possible violations of the law, such as price fixing.

We certainly hope that the Competition Commission, once it is set up and  operational, would be able to do its work properly and implement the law without fear or favor.

A perfectly level playing field may be a utopian dream, but at least we should be able to protect the interests of consumers, and the public as  a whole, from businessmen thinking only of amassing profits and laughing all the way to the bank.

             

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