Manifesto

House Bill No. 271 "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR ANTITRUST PENALTIES"

The Constitution under Section 19 of Article XIIprovides that: “The State shall regulate or prohibit monopolies when the publicinterest so requires. No combinations in restraint of trade or unfaircompetition shall be allowed.

The aforementionedconstitutional provision not only recognizes the danger that monopolies pose onthe public interest, but also contemplates that monopolies emerging, throughrestraint of trade or unfair competition, must be struck down in theirincipiency.

It is obviously inaccordance with the aforecited constitutional principles that the creation ofthe Asset Privatization Trust (APT) and the Committee on Privatization (COP)clearly provided that the privatization effort should “give primacy to theprivate sector in undertaking economic activities under a climate of faircompetition. Sale to investors which would result in undue concentration ofeconomic power in the hands of the few groups or individuals shall bediscouraged.”

The bill was filed duringthe 9^th Congress in reaction to observation of industries beingcartelized when few suppliers of a vital product conspire to fix prices to thedetriment of the public. In very sensitive public utilities, small operators,who collectively may be able to provide better and geographicallyfarther-reaching service, are unable to do so because of undue restraintsimposed by the giants of the sector. In protecting their turf, the giants andthe virtual monopolies place public interest below the objective of protectingmarket share and profitability.

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Senate Bill No. 1 "Competition Act of 2010"

Competition Act of 2010

REPUBLIC ACT No. 7925 "Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines."

REPUBLIC ACT No. 7925

AN ACT TO PROMOTE AND GOVERN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHILIPPINE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE DELIVERY OF PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines."

Section 2. Scope and Application. - This Act shall apply to all public telecommunications entities in the Philippines.

Section 3. Definitions and Interpretations. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be used:

(a) Telecommunications - any process which enables a telecommunications entity to relay and receive voice, data, electronic messages, written or printed matter, fixed or moving pictures, words, music or visible or audible signals or any control signals of any design and for any purpose by wire, radio or other electromagnetic, spectral, optical or technological means.

(b) Public telecommunications entity - any person, firm, partnership or corporation, government or private, engaged in the provision of telecommunications services to the public for compensation.

(c) Broadcasting - an undertaking the object of which is to transmit over-the-air commercial radio or television messages for reception of a broad audience in a geographic area.

(d) Franchise - a privilege conferred upon a telecommunications entity by congress, authorizing that entity to engage in a certain type of telecommunications service.

(e) Local exchange operator - an entity providing transmission and switching of telecommunications services, primarily but not limited to voice-to-voice service, in a geographic area anywhere in the Philippines.

(f) Inter-exchange carrier - an entity, sometimes referred to as carrier's carrier or national backbone network operator, authorized to install, own and operate facilities which connect local exchanges within the Philippines and to engage in the business of inter-exchange national long distance services.

(g) International carrier - an entity primarily engaged in the business of providing transmission and switching of any telecommunications service between the Philippines and any other point of the world to which it has an existing correspondent or prospective interconnection agreements.

(h) Value-added service provider (VAS) - an entity which, relying on the transmission, switching and local distribution facilities of the local exchange and inter-exchange operators,

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