THE Philippines is turning to whistleblowers to energize its struggling campaign against the cartels, an official has said.
The Philippine Competition Commission, or PCC, will recruit whistleblowers to report anti-competitive practices like price-fixing, Chairman Arsenio Balisacan said in an interview on Wednesday.
The antitrust body is also investigating the power generation and cement industries following complaints of alleged collusion among the sectors’ few players, he said.
He declined to elaborate, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
“We need to coordinate, cooperate and collaborate,” Balisacan said.
The PCC plans to grant individuals immunity from prosecution and exempt them from fines in exchange for information on fixing prices and imposing barriers to entry, he said.
Balisacan, the former economic planning secretary, is taking on the task of dismantling anti-competitive practices in the Philippines, which the World Bank has outlined as among the country’s key challenges.
Southeast Asia’s youngest antitrust body is struggling as it faces off against wealthy, politically-connected families that dominate the business landscape.
The commission has been barred by a court from reviewing the sale of San Miguel Corp.’s telecommunication assets. The antitrust body in April asked the Supreme Court to lift the injunction against the review.
The extent of the amnesty for whistleblowers will depend on the data and documents provided and the timing of the reporting, Balisacan said. Individuals who disclose information during an ongoing investigation will receive less of a reprieve than those flagging details at the onset.
Possible anti-competitive practices in shipping, toll operations, telecommunications and agriculture will be the focus in the coming months, Balisacan said.
We’re hoping that businesses will recognize and render respect to the competition authority by complying with the law instead of challenging our acts,” he said.
“They should recognize that it’s in the interest of everyone.”