Malacañan Palace
27 January 2016

President Benigno S. Aquino III administered the oath to Secretary Arsenio Balisacan as chairperson of the Philippine Competition Commission.

The former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General was sworn in Malacañan Palace as the first chairperson of the newly created Office of Philippine Competition Commission. He will be serving a term of seven years.

The other appointed officials of the same office included Stella Alabastro-Quimbo, Johannes Bernabe, Elcid Butuyan and Menardo Guevarra. Alabastro and Bernabe will each be serving a term of seven years while Butuyan and Guevarra will each have a term of five years.

The Philippine Competition Act was signed into law on July 21, 2015 under Republic Act No. 10667. The main function of the commission is to protect the welfare of the consumer and the advancement of economic development to both domestic and international trade. It is also mandated by law to conduct inquiries and investigations, and to penalize all forms of anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.

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