Article 32Supplement v1, p. 32

COMMERCIAL LAWS SUPPLEMENT

from any or a combination of the following: competitors,

customers, suppliers, or consumers;

(h) Entity refers to any person, natural or juridical, sole

proprietorship, partnership, combination or association in

any form, whether incorporated or not, domestic or

foreign, including those owned or controlled by the

government,

engaged

directly

or

indirectly

in

any

economic activity;

(i) Market refers to the group of goods or services that are

sufficiently

interchangeable or substitutable and the

object of competition, and the geographic area where

said goods or services are offered;

(j) Merger refers to the joining of two (2) or more entities

into an existing entity or to form a new entity;

(k) Relevant market refers to the market in which a

particular

good

or

service

is

sold

and

which

is

a

combination of the relevant product market and the

relevant geographic market, defined as follows:

(1) A relevant product market comprises all those goods

and/or services which are regarded as interchangeable or

substitutable by the consumer or the customer, by reason

of the goods and/or services’ characteristics, their prices

and their intended use; and

(2) The relevant geographic market comprises the area in

which the entity concerned is involved in the supply and

demand of goods and services, in which the conditions of

competition are sufficiently homogenous and which can

be distinguished from neighboring areas because the

conditions of competition are different in those areas.

CHAPTER II PHILIPPINE COMPETITION

COMMISSION

Section 5. Philippine Competition Commission. – To

implement the national competition policy and attain the

objectives and purposes of this Act, an independent

quasi-judicial body is hereby created, which shall be

known as the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC),

hereinafter referred to as the Commission, and which

shall

be

organized

within

sixty

(60)

days

after

the

effectivity

of

this

Act.

Upon

establishment

of

the

Commission, Executive Order No. 45 designating the

Department of Justice as the Competition Authority is

hereby amended. The Office for Competition (OFC) under

the Office of the Secretary of Justice shall however be

retained,

with

its

powers

and

functions

modified

pursuant to Section 13 of this Chapter.

The Commission shall be an attached agency to the

Office of the President.

Section

6.

Composition

of

the

Commission.

–

The

Commission shall be composed of a Chairperson and four

(4)

Commissioners.

The

Chairperson

and

the

Commissioners shall be citizens and residents of the

Philippines,

of

good

moral

character,

of

recognized

probity and independence and must have distinguished

themselves professionally in public, civic or academic

service in any of the following fields: economics, law,

finance, commerce or engineering. They must have been

in the active practice of their professions for at least ten

(10) years, and must not have been candidates for any

elective

national

or

local

office

in

the

immediately

preceding elections, whether regular or special: Provided,

That at least one (1) shall be a member of the Philippine

Bar with at least ten (10) years of experience in the active

practice of law, and at least one (1) shall be an economist.

The Chairperson and the Commissioners who shall have

the

rank

equivalent

of

cabinet

secretary

and

undersecretary, respectively, shall be appointed by the

President.

Section 7. Term of Office. – The term of office of the

Chairperson and the Commissioners shall be seven (7)

years

without

reappointment.

Of

the

first

set

of

appointees, the Chairperson shall hold office for seven (7)

years and of the first four (4) Commissioners, two (2) shall

hold office for a term of seven (7) years and two (2) for a

term of five (5) years. In case a vacancy occurs before the

expiration of the term of office, the appointment to such

vacancy shall only be for the unexpired term of the

predecessor.

The Chairperson and the Commissioners shall enjoy

security of tenure and shall not be suspended or removed

from office except for just cause as provided by law.

Section

8.

Prohibitions

and Disqualifications. – The

Commissioners shall not, during their tenure, hold any

other office or employment. They shall not, during their

tenure,

directly

or indirectly practice any profession,

except in a teaching capacity, participate in any business,

or be financially interested in any contract with, or any

franchise,

or

special

privileges

granted

by

the

government

or

any

subdivision,

agency,

or

instrumentality

thereof,

including

government-owned

and -controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. They

shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of

their office. They shall not be qualified to run for any

office

in

the

election

immediately

succeeding their

cessation

from

office:

Provided,

That

the

election

mentioned

hereof

is

not

a

Barangay

election or a

Sangguniang Kabataan election. Provided, they shall not

be allowed to personally appear or practice as counsel or

agent on any matter pending before the Commission for

two (2) years following their cessation from office.

No spouse or relative by consanguinity or affinity within

the fourth civil degree of any of the Commissioners, the

Chairperson

and

the

Executive

Director

of

the

Commission may appear as counsel nor agent on any

matter

pending

before

the

Commission or transact

business directly or indirectly therein during incumbency

and within two (2) years from cessation of office.

Section 9. Compensation and Other Emoluments for

Members

and

Personnel

of

the

Commission.—

The

compensation and other emoluments for the members

and personnel of the Commission shall be exempted

from the coverage of Republic Act No. 6758, otherwise

known

as

the

"Salary

Standardization Act". For this

purpose,

the salaries and other emoluments of the

Chairperson, the Commissioners, and personnel of the

Commission

shall

be

set

based

on

an

objective

classification

system,

taking

into

consideration

the

importance

and

responsibilities

attached

to

the

respective

positions,

and

shall

be submitted to the

President of the Philippines for his approval.

Section

10.

Quorum.

–

Three

(3)

members

of

the

Commission

shall

constitute

a

quorum

and

the

affirmative vote of three (3) members shall be necessary

for the adoption of any rule, ruling, order, resolution,

decision or other acts of the Commission.

Section 11. Staff. – The Commission shall appoint, fix the

compensation, and determine the status, qualifications,

and duties of an adequate staff, which shall include an

Executive Director of the Commission. The Executive

Director shall be appointed by the Commission and shall

have relevant experience in any of the fields of law,

economics,

commerce,

management,

finance

or

engineering for at least ten (10) years. The members of

the

technical

staff,

except

those

performing

purely

clerical functions, shall possess at least a Bachelor’s

Degree in any of the following lines of specialization:

economics,

law,

finance,

commerce,

engineering,

accounting, or management.

Section 12. Powers and Functions. — The Commission

shall have original and primary jurisdiction over the

enforcement and implementation of the provisions of

this Act, and its implementing rules and regulations. The

Commission shall exercise the following powers and

functions:

(a) Conduct inquiry, investigate, and hear and decide on

cases involving any violation of this Act and other existing

competition laws motu proprio or upon receipt of a

verified complaint from an interested party or upon

referral by the concerned regulatory agency, and institute

the appropriate civil or criminal proceedings;

© Compiled by RGL

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