PCCI urges Congress to pass antitrust, land registration bills

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is urging the Legislature to pass two measures which, it said, would help improve the Philippines’ world competitiveness ranking. The chamber is hoping for the passage of the Competition Act (Senate Bill 3098, also known as the Antitrust Bill) and the Land Administration Reform Act (LARA, or Senate Bill 276), which are both in committee-level consultations and deliberations. “These are two complementary legislations that certainly have common impact on our competitiveness and the cost of doing business in the Philippines,” said PCCI president Miguel Varela. “We are optimistic that Congress will prioritize these measures and implement them in order for us to attract more investments, generate employment and sustain economic growth.” LARA’s main objective is to rationalize and streamline the process of land management administration. “Inefficiencies arising from outdated land legislations and administrative processes contribute to higher costs in doing business. We can see this in our latest competitiveness rankings where we fared the worst in areas related to property rights administration,” Varela said. The Competition Act aims to stop unfair practices, such as the concentration of economic power in a few persons; attempts to unduly stifle competition; and attempts to distort, manipulate or constrict the discipline of free markets. The measure aims to establish an independent commission on competition that will implement the laws and objectives of the Philippine Fair Competition Act of 2011 — BM, GMA News