HOW DOES THE PCC DETERMINE IF A BUSINESS CONDUCT IS ANTI-COMPETITIVE?

In determining whether an anti-competitive agreement or conduct exists or has been committed, the PCC shall:
* Define the relevant market allegedly affected by the anti-competitive agreement or conduct, following the principles laid out in Section 24 of the PCA;
* Determine if there is actual or potential adverse impact on competition in the relevant market caused by the alleged agreement or conduct, and if such impact is substantial and outweighs the actual or potential efficiency gains that result from the agreement or conduct;
* Adopt a broad and forward-looking perspective, recognizing future market developments, any overriding need to make the goods or services available to consumers, the requirements of large investments in infrastructure, the requirements of law, and the need of the Philippine economy to respond to international competition, but also taking account of past behavior of the parties involved and prevailing market conditions;
* Balance the need to ensure that competition is not prevented or substantially restricted and the risk that competition efficiency, productivity, innovation, or development of priority areas or industries in the general interest of the country may be deterred by overzealous or undue intervention; and
* Assess the totality of evidence on whether it is more likely than not that the entity has engaged in an anti-competitive agreement or conduct, including whether the entity’s conduct was done with a reasonable commercial purpose such as but not limited to phasing out of a product or closure of a business, or as a reasonable commercial response to the market entry or conduct of a competitor. -