The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it accepted a P1.5-million settlement offered by the Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors (PALSCON) to address potential anti-competitive agreements within the organization.
It said that following an investigation into PALSCON’s suspected violations of the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), the organization opted to submit an undertaking to the commission to correct its behavior.
“This settlement marks a crucial step towards fostering a more competitive and transparent environment within the industry. We hope it will encourage businesses to adopt fair practices,” said PALSCON national president Armando Gutierrez Jr.
The PCA prohibits agreements among competitors that limit competition such as dividing the market based on sales, territory, product or service type or other factors.
PALSCON’s Code of Ethics contained provisions that had the effect of limiting competition among its members.
The PCC said that in 2021, during the PCC Enforcement Office’s investigation, PALSCON requested to engage in settlement discussions based on the PCC’s rules of procedure, allowing entities under investigation to offer a settlement before the final decision.
PALSCON submitted a complete revised settlement proposal on July 14, 2023, which the commission approved on Oct. 5, 2023.
The proposal includes settlement payment of P1.54 million, joining a competition law seminar organized by PCC, the appointment of a competition law compliance officer, acknowledgment of their association’s inadvertent mistake and publishing it on their website for two years, and the revision of their Code of Ethics to prohibit anti-competitive practices.
“We hope that associations and business groups become more wary of how their guiding principles create advantages or disadvantages that affect the level playing field,” said PCC chairperson Michael Aguinaldo.
