The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on Friday confirmed it has received referrals from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over alleged anti-competitive conduct in the procurement of flood control projects.
The referrals cite possible violations of Republic Act No. 10667, or the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), involving St. Timothy Construction Corp., Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corp., SYMS Construction Trading and officials and employees of the DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, as well as Sunwest, Inc. and DPWH Regional Office IV-B personnel.
The DPWH transmitted inspection reports, bid documents and other records that may support the PCC’s Competition Enforcement Office’s (CEO) preliminary inquiry into suspected bid-rigging and collusion.
PCC director Christian Loren De Los Santos said the commission is now examining bid submissions and potential communication exchanges to establish whether violations of the PCA were committed.
The move follows testimonies raised in recent Congressional hearings on flood control controversies, which may also serve as evidence in the PCC’s probe.
Under the PCA, entities found guilty of anti-competitive agreements such as bid-rigging face administrative fines of up to P110 million for the first offense, P110 million to P275 million for the second and P165 million to P275 million for the third and subsequent offenses.
The PCC also reiterated that its leniency program remains open to individuals or firms engaged in cartel conduct, including bid-rigging, price fixing, market allocation or output restriction.
The program grants immunity or reduced fines to applicants who voluntarily disclose their participation and fully cooperate with investigators, with only one immunity slot available per violation.
 is investigating several flood control contractors and public works officials for alleged bid-rigging and collusion in violation of the Philippine Competition Act.){kind=link}