THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S .  No. 
INTRODUCED BY HON. 
MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution provides for the regulation or prohibition of 
monopolies, combinations in restraint of trade and unfair competition. 
However, despite the Constitution and other special laws with anti-trust 
provisions, enforcement is seldom heard of as authorities seem to have 
forgotten the existence of said laws, or worse, choose to ignore them. 
While lackadaisical implementation of anti-trust laws can simply be 
charged to government indifference, the laws themselves do not contribute 
much to encourage enforcement. Most if not all of Philippine anti-trust 
legislation are too ambiguous and outdated to discourage a potential 
wrongdoer, let alone, have an actual one held liable. 
Hence, this bill seeks to provide for more effective implementation of the 
constitutional mandate against monopolies, combinations in restraint of trade 
and unfair methods of competition by re-defining and strengthening the 
existing laws, processes and structures governing the same. 
Thus, for the protection of the consumers as well as to promote a healthy 
business climate, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
MANUEL B. VI LAR, JR. 
1 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. 
No. 
11 
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INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR A MORE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE AGAINST MONOPOLIES, COMBINATIONS IN 
STRENGTHENING EXISTING LAWS, PROCESSES AND STRUCTURES 
REGULATING THE SAME AND FOR OTHER PURPOSE 
RESTRAINT OF TRADE AND UNFAIR COMPETITION BY RE-DEFINING AND 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
I. TITLE, DECLARATION OF POLICY AND DEFINITION OF TERMS 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known and cited as "The Philippine Anti- 
Trust Act of 2004." 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is a declared the policy of the State to 
prevent the concentration of economic power in a few persons who threaten to control 
production, trade, or industry, stifle competition, distort, manipulate or constrict the 
discipline of free markets, or tarnper with the free play of the market forces and 
eventually destroy free and open markets. This policy is in pursuance of the 
Constitutional mandate that the state regulates or prohibits monopolies when the 
public interest so requires and that no combinations in restraint of trade or unfair 
competition shall be allowed. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terns. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall 
be taken to mean as follows: 
a. Anti-trust Laws - this Act, statutes for consumer protection and all other 
statutes hereafter enacted by Congress for the consumer protection and 
those relating to or governing monopolies, oligopolies, cartels, combinations, 
contracts and/or agreements or arrangements in restraint of trade, 
production, commerce and industry, or which make available to national or 
local governments, or any private person whose rights have been or in 
danger of 
being impaired, any civil and/or criminal remedies or 
administrative proceedings before the proper Regional Trial Court or 
administrative agency with respect to any act, contract, agreement, rule, 


2 
b. 
C. 
d. 
e. 
f. 
g* 
h. 
i. 
j. 
k. 
1. 
m. 
11. 
course of conduct, or other activity by, between or among persons 
constituting a restraint upon or monopolization of domestic or foreign trade, 
commerce or industry or any unfair trade practices or methods of 
competition in or affecting such trade, commerce or industry 
Person - any natural person, firm, company, corporation, society, 
association, partnership, joint-stock company, or any other legal entity, 
including any person acting under color or authority of law 
Anti-trust Investigator - an attorney or investigator employed or deputized 
by the Anti-trust Commission who is charged with the duty of enforcing or 
carrying into effect the provisions of this Act or any law for consumer 
protection 
Cartel - a combination of producers of any product or services joined 
together to create a monopoly to control its production, sale, and price 
Commerce - intercourse by way of trade and traffic between different 
regions, provinces, towns or cities in the Philippines and the citizens or 
inhabitants thereof, including not only the purchase, sale and exchange of 
commodities, goods, articles, services, productions or property of any kind, 
but also the instrumentalities and agencies by which it is promoted and the 
means and modes by which it is carried on 
Commission - the Anti-trust Commission created and existing under this 
Act 
Document Custodian - the anti-trust document custodian or any deputy 
custodian designated under this Act 
Documentary Material - the original or copy of any book, record, report, 
paper, correspondence, tabulation, chart, book of accounts, financial and 
corporate records, or similar document 
Export Trade - trade or commerce in goods, wares, merchandise or object of 
trade, commerce or industry exported, or in the course of being exported 
from the Philippines to any foreign country 
Industry - any department or branch of art, occupation, or business 
conducted as a means of livelihood or for profit, especially, one which 
employs much labor and capital and is a distinct branch of trade 
Market - economic extent and interplay of supply and demand 
Relevant Market - Market in which competitors agree to respect the rights of 
others to sell a product or service, by limiting its manufacture or sales so as 
to prevent or limit competition among themselves. 
Open Market- a market wherein supply and demand are expressed in terms 
of price 
Monopoly - a privilege or peculiar advantage vested in one person, 
consisting of the exclusive right to carry on a particular business or trade, 
manufacture a particular product or make available a particular service, or 


3 
control the sale of the whole supply thereof. It is a form of market structure 
in which one person dominate the total sales of a product or service. A s  
prohibited in this Act, it has two elements: (1) possession of monopoly 
power in relevant markets, and (2) willful acquisition or maintenance of that 
power to exclude competitors from any part of trade, commerce or industry, 
as distinguished from growth or development as a consequence of a 
supervisor product, business, acumen, or historic accident. 
0. Oligopoly 
- 
economic climate in which at least three (3) large 
sellers/provider of substantially identical products or services dominate the 
market 
p. Trade Secret - a formula, pattern, device or compilation of information, plan 
or process, tool, mechanism, or compound, known only to limited persons 
used in their business, giving them advantage over competitors who do not 
know or utilize the same. 
q. Trade - mercantile or commercial business in general, or the buying and 
selling, or exchanging, of commodities and services, either by wholesale or 
retail 
r. Trusts - an association or combination of persons or corporations having 
the intention and power, or the tendency, to create a monopoly, control 
production, interfere with the free course of trade, or to fix and regulate the 
supply and the price of commodities and services. It refers to almost any 
form of combination of a monopolistic character or tendency. 
s. Unfair Methods of Competition - methods of competition which hinders 
players in the market from having a fair opportunity for competition, 
11. 
PROHIBITION AGAINST SPECIFIC FORMS OF MONOPOLIES, 
OLIGOPOLIES, CARTELS, COMBINATIONS OR AGREEMENTS, OR COURSES OF 
CONDUCT IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE, COMMERCE, OR INDUSTRY 
SECTION 4. Prohibited and/or Unlawful Acts, And Course of Conduct in Trade, 
Commerce and Industry In General.- 
a. It shall be unlawful for any person to monopolize, or attempt to monopolize 
any kind of merchandise, commodity, article or object of trade, commerce, or 
industry or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to 
monopolize any part of the trade, commerce, or industry among the various 
provinces and cities in the Philippines, or with foreign countries. 
b. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in trade, commerce, or industry, 
in the course of such trade, commerce, or industry, either directly or 
indirectly, to discriminate in price between purchasers of merchandise, 
commodities, articles or objects of trade, commerce, or industry of like grade 
and quality, where: 


4 
1. 
Either or any of the purchasers involved are in trade, commerce, or 
industry in the Philippines; 
“Where such merchandise, commodities, articles or objects of trade, 
commerce, or industry are sold for use, consumption, or resale 
within the Philippines; or 
Where the effect of such discrimination may be substantially to 
lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of 
trade, commerce, or industry, or to injure, destroy, or prevent 
competition with any person who either grants or knowingly 
receives the benefit of such discrimination, or with customers of 
either of them. 
2. 
3. 
Provided That nothing herein contained shall prevent differentials which 
make only due allowance for differences in the cost of manufacture, sale or 
delivery resulting from the differing methods or quantities in which such 
merchandise, commodities, articles, or objects of trade, commerce, or 
industry are to such purchasers sold or delivered: Provided, however, that 
the Antitrust Commissioner may, after due notice and hearing where all 
interested parties have been accorded a chance to ventilate their views, fix 
and establish quantity limits, and revise the same as he finds necessary, as 
to particular merchandise, commodities, articles or objects of trade, 
commerce, or industry, or classes thereof, where he finds that available 
purchasers in greater quantities are so few as to render differentials on 
account thereof unjustly discriminatory or promotive of monopoly in any line 
of trade, commerce, or industry; and the foregoing shall then not be 
construed to permit differentials based on differences in quantities greater 
than those so fixed and established: and Provided further That nothing 
herein contained shall prevent persons engaged in selling merchandise, 
commodities, articles or objects of trade, commerce, or industry from 
selecting their own customers in bona fide transactions and not in restraint 
of trade, commerce, or industry; and Provided, Furthermore That nothing 
herein contained shall prevent price changes from time to time where in 
response to changing conditions affecting the market for or the marketability 
of the merchandise, commodities, articles or objects of trade, commerce, or 
industry concerned, such as, but not limited to, the actual or imminent 
deterioration of perishable merchandise, commodities, articles or objects, 
obsolescence of seasonal goods or merchandise, distress sales under court 
process, or sales in good faith in discontinuance of business in the 
merchandise, commodities, articles or objects concerned. 
c. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in trade, commerce, or industry 
in the course of such trade, commerce, or industry to pay or grant, or to 
receive or accept, anything of value as a commission, brokerage, or other 


5 
compensation, or any allowance or discount in lieu thereof, except for 
services rendered in connection with the sales or purchase of goods, wares 
merchandise, commodity, article or object of trade, commerce, or industry, 
either to the other party to such transaction or to an agent representative or 
other intermediary therein. 
d. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in trade, commerce, or industry 
to pay or contract for the payment of anything of value to or for the benefit of 
a customer in the course of such trade, commerce, or industry as 
compensation or in consideration for any services or facilities furnished by or 
through such customer in connection with the processing, handling, sale, or 
offering for sale of products, merchandise, commodities, articles, or objects of 
trade, commerce, or industry manufactured, sold or offered for sale by such 
person, unless such payment or consideration is available on proportionally 
equal terms to all other customers competing in the distribution of such 
products, merchandise, commodities, articles or objects of trade, commerce, 
or industry. 
e. It shall be unlawful for any person to discriminate in favor of one purchaser 
against another purchaser or purchasers of a product, commodity, 
merchandise, article, or object of trade, commerce or industry bought for 
resale, with or without processing, by contracting to furnish or furnishing, or 
by contributing to the furnishing of, any services or facilities connected with 
the processing, handling, sale, or offering for the sale of such product, 
commodity, merchandise, article, or object of trade, commerce, or industry 
so purchased upon terms not accorded to all purchasers on proportionaIIy 
equal terms. 
f. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in trade, commerce, industry, in 
the course of such trade, commerce, or industry, knowingly to induce or 
receive a discrimination in price which is prohibited by this Act 
g. It shall be unlawful for any person to be a director in any two or more 
corporations, any one of which has capital, surplus, and undivided profits 
aggregating more than One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00), engaged in whole 
or in part in trade, commerce or industry, other than banks, banking 
associations, trust companies and common carriers, if such corporations are 
or shall have been theretofore, by virtue of their business and location of 
operation, competitors, so that the elimination of competition by agreement 
by them would constitute a violation of any provisions of this Act and other 
antitrust laws. The eligibility of a director under the foregoing provision shall 
be determined by the aggregate amount of capital, surplus, and undivided 
profits, exclusive of dividends declared but not paid to stockholders, at the 
end of the fiscal year of said corporation next preceding the election of 
directors, and when a director has been elected in accordance with the 


6 
provisions of this Act, it shall be lawful for him to continue as such for one 
year thereafter. 
When any person elected or chosen as a director or officer or selected as 
an employee of any bank or other corporation subject to the provisions of 
this Act is eligible at the time of his election or selection to act in such 
capacity shall not be affected and he shall not become or be deemed 
amenable to any of the provisions hereof by reason of any change in the 
affairs of such bank of other corporation from whatever cause, whether 
specifically excepted by any of the provision hereof or not, until the 
expiration of one year from the date of his election or employment. 
SECTION 5. Prohibited and/or Unlawfil Acts, And Course of Conduct in 
Telecommunication and Public Utility Sectors.- 
a. It shall be unlawful for any person to monopolize, or attempt to monopolize 
radio or communication, directly or indirectly through the control of the 
manufacture or sale of 
radio apparatus, through exclusive traffic 
arrangements or deceptive acts or practices, or by any other means of unfair 
method of competition in trade, commerce or industry. 
b. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged directly or indirectly, through 
any person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under direct 
or indirect common control with such person, or through an agent, or 
otherwise, in the business of transmitting and/or receiving for hire energy, 
telecommunications, or signals by radio, videotex, telefax, leased lines, 
electronic mail boxes, telemodem, telephone, wire, or telegraph line or 
system, including satellite transmissions, or any and all types of 
telecommunications services, such as messages, impressions, pictures, 
music, voices and data, throughout the Philippines and between the 
Philippines and other countries, ships at sea, airplanes and other 
conveyances, and stations for television in the Philippines, including cable 
and wireless operations, to acquire, own, or control any part of the stock or 
other capital share or any interest in the physical property and/or assets of 
any such cable, wire, telegraph, telephone, videotex, telefax, leased lines, 
electronic mail boxes, tele-modem, television or video phone line or system, 
if in either case the purpose is and/or the effect thereof may be to 
substantially lessen competition or restrain trade, commerce or industry 
between any place in the Philippines and any place in any foreign country, 
or unlawfully to create a monopoly, or to concentrate economic power in the 
hands of a few persons in any line in the business or trade or industry of 
transmitting and/ or receiving for hire energy, telecommunications, or 
signals by radio, telephone, wire, or telegraph line or system, including 
satellite transmission, or any and all types of telecommunications services. 


7 
c. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged directly or 
any person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled 
indirectly through 
by or under direct 
or indirect common control with such person, or through an agent, or 
otherwise, in the business of transmitting and/or receiving for the messages 
by any cable, wire, telegraph, or telephone line or system, including satellite 
transmissions, for any and all types of telecommunications services, such as 
messages, impressions, pictures, music, voices and data, throughout the 
Philippines and between the Philippines and other countries, ships at sea, 
airplanes and other conveyances, and stations for television in the 
Philippines, including cable and wireless operations, to acquire, own, 
control, or operate directly or indirectly either by purchase, lease, 
construction or otherwise, any station or the apparatus therein, or any 
system for transmitting and/or receiving cable, telegraph, wire, telephone, 
telefax, 
tele-modem 
international and domestic 
telecommunications 
messages or signals, including satellite transmissions, for any and all types 
of telecommunications services, such as impressions, pictures, music, 
voices and data, between any place in the Philippines and between the 
Philippines and any place in other countries, or shall acquire, own or 
control any part of the stock or other capital share or any interest in the 
physical property and/or other assets of any such radio, television, 
telephone, telegraph, wire or cable station, apparatus, or system, if in either 
case the purpose is and/or the effect thereof may be to substantially lessen 
competition or to restrain trade, commerce, or industry between any place 
in the Philippines and any place in other countries, or unlawfully to create a 
monopoly in any line of trade, commerce, or industry. 
d. It shall be unlawful for any person or firm who is a holder of a franchise for 
the operation of a public utility to require or demand from any applicant, 
client or subscriber of its services, the investment of any sum of money in 
the company or firm as a condition for the grant or approval of the 
application and/or the installation of the facility or service being applied for. 
After two years from the approval of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any 
common carrier engaged in trade, commerce, or industry to have any 
dealings in securities, supplies, or other articles of trade, commerce, or 
industry or to make or have any contracts for the construction or 
maintenance of any kind, to the amount of more than P1,000,000.00, in the 
aggregate, in any one year, with another corporation, firm, partnership, or 
association when the said common carrier stroll have upon its board of 
directors or as its president, manager, or as its purchasing or selling officer, 
or agent in the particular transaction, any person who is at the same time 
director, manager, or purchasing or selling officer of, or who has any 
substantial interest in, such other corporation, firm, partnership, or 


8 
association, unless and except when such purchases shall he made from, or 
such dealings shall be with, the bidder whose bid is the most favorable to 
such common carrier, to be ascertained by competitive bidding under 
regulations to be prescribed by rule or otherwise the agency required under 
this Act to promulgate such roles. No bid shall be received unless the name 
and address of the bidder or the names and addresses of the officers, 
directors, and general managers thereof, if the bidder be a corporation, or of 
the members, if it be a partnership or firm, be given with the bid. 
Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, do or attempt to do anything 
to prevent anyone from bidding, or shall do any act to prevent free and fair 
competition among the bidders or those desiring to bid, shall upon 
conviction by the court, suffer the penalties prescribed in this Act. 
Every such common carrier having any such transactions or making any 
such purchases shall, within ten (10) days after making the same, file with 
the Antitrust Commissioner a full and detailed statement of the transaction 
showing the manner of the competitive bidding, who were the bidders, and 
the names and addresses of the directors and officers of the corporations 
and the members of the firm or partnership bidding; an whenever the 
Antitrust Commissioner shall, after investigation or hearing, have reason to 
believe that the law has been violated in and about the said purchases or 
transactions, he shall initiate the appropriate criminal and civil actions and 
other proceedings with the proper court and/or administrative agency, as 
the case may be. 
SECTION 6. Prohibited and/or Unlawfil Acts, And Course of Conduct in the 
Banking Sector. - 
a. It shall be unlawful for any private banker or director, officer, or employee of 
any bank or branch thereof to be at the same time a director, officer, or 
employee of any other bank, banking association, savings bank, or trust 
company organized or doing business in the Philippines: Provided, That the 
Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas may by regulation permit 
such service as a director, officer, or employee of not more than one other 
such institution or branch thereof: Provided Further, That this prohibition 
shall not apply in the case of any one or more of the following or any branch 
thereof: 
1. A banking association, savings bank, or trust company, more than 
ninety per centum (90Y0) 
of the stock of which is owned directly or 
indirectly by the Republic of the Philippines or by any corporation of 
which the Republic of the Philippines directly or indirectly owns more 
than ninety per centum (90Y0) 
of the stock. 


9 
2. A bank, banking association, savings bank, or trust company which 
has been placed formally in liquidation or which is in the hands of a 
receiver, conservator, or other official exercising similar functions. 
3, A corporation, principally engaged in international or foreign banking 
or banking in autonomous territory of the Philippines. 
4. A bank, banking association, savings bank, or trust company not 
located and having no branch in the same city, town, or barangay as 
that in which such member bank or any branch thereof is located, or 
in any city, town, or barangay contiguous or adjacent thereto. 
5. A bank, banking association, savings bank, or trust company not 
engaged in a class or classes of business in which such member bank 
is engaged. 
6. A mutual savings bank having no capital stock. 
Provided, However, That any director, officer, or employee of any member 
bank of the Philippine Banking System, or any branch thereof, who is 
lawfully serving at the same time as a private banker or as a director, officer, 
or employee of any other bank, banking association, savings bank, or trust 
company, or any branch thereof, may continue such service for not more 
than one (1) year after the effectivity of this Act. 
The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is tasked to 
enforce this section. After due notice and hearing where all interested 
parties were accorded a chance to be heard or ventilate their views, it shall 
prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary for that purpose. 
b. It shall he unlawful for any banking and other financial or lending 
institution to impose as a condition for the consideration or grant of an 
application for a loan by any person or group of persons the hiring of the 
services of a particular person or group of persons for the conduct and 
preparation of the feasibility studies and the rendering of other services 
relative to the loan applied for. 
SECTION 7. Prohibited and/or Unlawful Acts, And Course of Conduct of 
Corporations. - 
a. Except when otherwise allowed in this Art, it shall be unlawful for a 
corporation engaged in trade, commerce, or industry to acquire directly or 
indirectly, the whole or any part of the stock or other share capital, or the 
whole or any part of the assets of another corporation engaged also in trade, 
commerce or industry, where in any line of trade, commerce, or industry in 
any section of the Philippines, the effect of such acquisition may be 
substantially to lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly of any line 
of trade, commerce, or industry. 


10 
b. Except when otherwise allowed in this Act, it shall he unlawful for a 
corporation engaged in trade, commerce, or industry to acquire, directly or 
indirectly, the whole or any part of the stock or other share capital, or the 
whole or any part of the asset of one or more corporations engaged in trade, 
commerce, or industry where in any line of trade, commerce or industry in 
any part of the Philippines, the effect of such acquisition of stocks or assets, 
or of the use of such stock by the voting or granting of proxies or otherwise, 
may be a substantial to lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly. 
Ill. CRIMINAL PENALTIES 
SECTION 8. Penalties .- 
a. Any person who shall commit an act which, under Sections 4,5,6, 
and 7 of 
this Act, is prohibited or declared to be unlawful and/or against, public 
policy, shall be guilty of felony and upon conviction by the court shall suffer 
the penalty of imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 
twenty years and to pay a fine of not less than two hundred thousand pesos 
(P200,OOO.OO) but not more than one million pesos (P1,OOO.OO) 
if the 
offender is a natural person, or a fine of not less than five million pesos 
(P5,000,000.00) but not more than 
one hundred 
million 
pesos 
(P100,000,000.00) if the offender is a juridical person, at the discretion of 
the court. In case the offender is a corporation, partnership, joint stock 
company, association, firm or other legal entity, the court shall order its 
dissolution. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as limiting in 
anyway the application of any other provision of this Act which will enable 
the Government or any private person injured in his business or property 
by reason of the commission of any act or course of conduct prohibited or 
declared unlawful or, against public policy under this Act to obtain or 
secure final and complete relief against the offender. 
b. Any person who, with intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct 
compliance, in whole or in part, with any civil investigative demand duly 
and properly made under Section 33 of this Act, willfully withholds, 
misrepresents, removes from any place, conceals, covers up, destroys, 
alters or by any other means falsifies any documentary material, answers to 
written interrogatories, or oral testimony, which is the subject of such 
demand; or attempts to do so or solicits another to do so shall, upon 
conviction by the court, suffer the penalty of a fine of not less than five 
thousand pesos (P5,OOO.OO) 
but not more than twenty-five thousand pesos 
(P25,OOO.OO) 
and imprisonment of not less than two years but not more 
than five years, at the discretion of the court. If the offender is a public 
officer, he shall, in addition, suffer the penalty of perpetual disqualification 
from holding a public office. 


SECTION 9. Violation By Corporation, Partnership, Association, and Other 
Entity.- Whenever a juridical person shall commit any of the acts declared unlawful 
and punishable under this Act, the president and each one of the directors or 
managers, or its agents or representatives in the Philippines in the case of a foreign 
juridical person, who shall have authorized, ordered, or committed any of the acts 
constituting in whole or in part such violation, or who by reason of gross negligence 
failed to prevent the commission of such act shall be held liable as principals thereof. 
SECTION 10. Alien Violators. - If the person found violating any provisions of 
this Act is an alien, he shall, in addition to the penalties imposed upon him under this 
act, be deported after the service of hi's sentence without need of any further 
proceedings. 
IV. JURISDICTION OF REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS AND 
APPROPRIATE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES 
SECTION 1 1. Jurisdiction.- The various Regional Trial Courts in the Philippines 
shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to try and decide all criminal and civil 
cases involving violations of this Act. Any administrative agency that is vested by law 
with jurisdiction to grant administrative relief in specific cases shall continue to 
exercise such jurisdiction. 
V. ANTITRUST COMMISSION 
SECTION 12. Creation of a n  Antitrust Cornmission. - To carry into effect the 
objectives of this Act, an independent Antitrust Commission is hereby established. 
SECTION 13. Composition. - The Commission shall be composed of an Antitrust 
Commissioner, who shall be assisted by one overall Deputy Antitrust Commissioner to 
be known as Senior Deputy Antitrust Commissioner and one Deputy Antitrust 
Commissioner each for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. 
SECTION 14. Qualifications. - The Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies 
shall be natural-born citizens of the Philippines, at least forty (40) years old, of 
recognized probity and independence, members of the Philippine Bar, must have for 
ten (10) years or more engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines, and must not 
have been candidates for any elective national or local office in the immediately 
preceding election whether regular or special. 
SECTION 15. Appointment; Tern of OfBce. - The Antitrust Commissioner and his 
Deputies shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines for a term of seven (7) 
years without reappointment. 


12 
SECTION 16. Rank and Salary. - The Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies 
shall have the same ranks, privileges and salaries as the Chairman and Members, 
respectively, of a Constitutional Commission. Their salaries shall not be decreased 
during their term of office. 
SECTION 17. Filling of Vacancies. - In case of vacancy in the Office of the 
Antitrust Commissioner by reason of death, resignation, removal or permanent 
disability, the Senior Deputy Antitrust Commissioner shall serve as Acting Antitrust 
Commissioner in a concurrent capacity until a new Antitrust Commissioner shall have 
been appointed for a full term. In case the Senior Deputy cannot assume the office of 
Acting Antitrust Commissioner, the Deputy for Luzon shall assume the office as Acting 
Antitrust Commissioner until a new Antitrust Commissioner shall have been 
appointed . 
In case of temporary absence or disability of the Antitrust Commissioner, the 
Senior Deputy Antitrust Commissioner shall perform the duties of the Antitrust 
Commissioner until the latter returns or is able to perform his duties. 
In case of vacancy in the Office of the Senior Deputy Antitrust Commissioner, 
the Deputy for Luzon shall assume the office as the Senior Deputy Antitrust 
Commissioner until a new Senior Deputy shall have been appointed. 
In case of permanent vacancy in the Office of a Deputy for Luzon, Visayas or 
Mindanao, the same shall be filled within one month from the occurrence of such 
vacancy. 
In case a vacancy occurs before the expiration of the term of office of the 
Antitrust Commissioner or any of his Deputies, the appointment to such vacancy shall 
be only for the unexpired portion of the term of the predecessor. 
SECTION 18. Prohibitions and Disqualifications. - The Antitrust Commissioner 
and his Deputies shall not, during their tenure, hold any other office or employment. 
They shall not, during their tenure, directly or indirectly practice any profession, 
participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or any 
franchise, or special privilege granted by the government or any subdivision, agency, 
or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or 
their subsidiaries. They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their 
office. They shall not be qualified to run for any office in the election immediately 
succeeding their cessation from office. They shall not be allowed to appear or practice 
before the Antitrust Commission for two (2) years following their cessation from office. 
No spouse or relative by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth civil degree 
and no law, business, or professional partner or associate of anyone of them may 
appear as counsel or agent on any matter pending before the Office of the Antitrust 


13 
Commission or transact business directly or indirectly therein within one year 
preceding his appointment. 
This disqualification shall apply during the tenure of the official concerned and 
shall apply with equal force and effect to the law, business or professional firm for the 
same period. 
SECTION 19. Disclosure. - The Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies shall, 
upon assumption of office, individually make under oath a public disclosure of the 
identities of, and their relationship with, the persons covered by the prohibition and 
disqualification contained in the preceding section. 
The disclosure shall be filed with the Office of the President and the Office of the 
Antitrust Commission before the appointee assumes office, and every year thereafter. 
The disclosures made pursuant to this section shall form part of the public records 
and shall be available to any person or entity upon written request. 
SECTION 20. Structural Organization. - 
a. The authority and responsibility for the exercise of the mandate of the Office 
of the Antitrust Commissioner and for the discharge of its powers and 
functions shall be vested in the Antitrust Commissioner, who shall have 
supervision and control of the said Office. 
b. The Office of the Antitrust Commissioner shall consist of the Office of the 
Antitrust Commissioner, the Office of the Senior Deputy, the Office of the 
Deputy for Luzon, the Office of the Deputy for Visayas, and the Office of the 
Deputy for Mindanao. The President may appoint other deputies as the 
necessity for it arises, as recommended by the Antitrust Commissioner. 
c. The Office of the Antitrust Commissioner shall organize in the Commission 
such directorates and other allied services for the efficient discharge of the 
powers and proper performance by the Commission of its functions under 
this Act. 
d. The Office of the Senior Deputy shall oversee and administer the operations 
of the different offices under the Office of the Antitrust Commissioner. It 
shall likewise perform such other functions and duties I assigned to it by the 
Antitrust Commissioner. 
e. Each of the Offices of the Deputies for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao shall 
have an Investigation Staff and a Litigation Staff. The Investigation Staff 
shall have a Criminal Process Branch and a Criminal Trial Branch. The 
Criminal Process Branch shall conduct preliminary investigation of all 
criminal cases involving acts constituting a crime punishable under this Act 
or other related laws and, upon a finding of a prima facie case, shall file with 
the proper Regional Trial Court the corresponding information. The Criminal 


14 
Trial Branch shall prosecute before the court all cases filed by the Criminal 
Process Branch. 
The Litigation Staff shall have a Civil Process Branch and a Civil Trial 
Branch. The Civil The Civil Process Branch shall process all civil actions and 
proceedings arising out of the provisions of this Act and file the 
corresponding complaint or petition or answer, as the case may be, as may 
be required in the premises. The Civil Trial Branch shall handle the actual 
trial of such cases before the courts or administrative agency where they 
may be pending. The members of the investigation and litigation staffs shall 
receive salaries which shall not be less than those of the members of the 
prosecution staff of the Department of Justice. 
g. The position structure and staffing pattern of the Office of the Antitrust 
Commissioner, including those of the Deputies, shall be approved and 
prescribed by the Antitrust Commissioner. The Antitrust Commissioner 
shall appoint all officers and employees of the Office of the Antitrust 
Commissioner, including those of the Offices of the Deputies, in accordance 
with the civil service law, rules and regulations. 
f. 
SECTION 2 1 Headquarters. - The Antitrust Commissioner, the Senior Deputy, 
and the Deputy for Luzon shall hold office in Metropolitan Manila; the Deputy for the 
Visayas, in Cebu City or Lapulapu City; and the Deputy for Mindanao, in Cagayan de 
Oro City or Davao City as the Antitrust Commissioner may determine. The Antitrust 
Deputies shall visit the various regions within their respective geographical areas as 
public interest may require. 
SECTION 22. Mandate. - The Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies, as 
protectors of the consumers, shall act promptly and expeditiously on all complaints for 
violations of the provision of this Act and other consumers protection laws, and file the 
corresponding civil complaint or petition and/ or the corresponding criminal action 
with the appropriate judicial or administrative forum as the facts and the law may 
warrant: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to deny the 
Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies the right to act motu propio on what they 
perceive a violation of this Act or any other consumer protection law. 
SECTION 23. Powers and Functions. - Subject to the power vested in the courts 
and administrative agencies under this Act, the Commission shall enforce and 
administer laws and regulations governing monopolies, combinations in restraint of 
trade and unfair competition, including laws on consumer protection. 
The Commission shall perform and exercise the following investigative and 
prosecu tory powers. 


15 
a. Investigate on its own initiative, or upon the complaint of any person, any 
and all violations of this Act and other antitrust laws and, upon prima facie 
showing that the violations complained of has or have been committed, 
institute or file before the proper Regional Trial Court the appropriate 
information and prosecute the same to its final conclusion; 
b. Initiate and prosecute the proper action or proceeding before the proper 
court to prevent or dismantle any and all combinations of capital, organized 
in trust or otherwise, which are designed to control arbitrarily the condition 
of production, trade, commerce, or industry in any part of the Philippines, 
stifle competition, distort, manipulate or constrict the discipline of the 
market, or tamper with the free play of market forces. 
c. Initiate and prosecute the proper criminal and civil actions or proceeding 
before the proper court to prevent or penalize any unfair method of 
competition in trade, commerce, or industry and unfair or deceptive act or 
practice in trade, commerce, or industry. 
d. Initiate and prosecute such criminal, civil and administrative action or 
proceeding as may be authorized by all other consumer protection laws. 
SECTION 24. Arzcillary/Supplementa y Powers. - The Commission shall perform 
and exercise the following Ancillary/ supplementary powers: 
a. Subject to the relevant limitations imposed by the Bill of Rights enshrined in 
the Constitution and the procedure pointed out by Section 33 of this Act, 
initiate a civil investigative demand to obtain information relative to any 
activity that constitutes violation of this Act, consumer protection laws, and 
other antitrust laws: Provided that the Commission shall have the authority 
to initiate a civil investigative demand to obtain information as to any activity 
that will constitute a future violation of this Act, consumer protection laws, 
and other antitrust laws, to enable it to abort its commission or happening. 
b. Subject to the relevant limitations imposed by the Bill of Rights enshrined in 
the Constitution and the requirement embodied in Section 33 of this Act, the 
Commission shall have power to compel a prospective civil defendant to 
produce documents at the investigative process of a proceeding before a 
complaint is filed: Provided, That the demand cannot be used to obtain 
personal documents from a natural person. 
c. Gather and compile information on, and investigate the organization, 
business, conduct, practices, and management of any natural or juridical 
person or entity engaged in trade, commerce, or industry and its relation to 
individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, firms, and other 
business enterprises. 
d. Require, by general or special orders, persons engaged in trade, commerce, 
or industry to file with the Commission in such form as the Commission 


16 
shall prescribe annual or special, or both annual and special, reports or 
answers in writing to specific questions, furnishing to the Commission such 
information as it may require as to the organization, business, conduct, 
practices, management and relation to other persons of the respective 
natural or juridical persons or entities filing such reports or answers in 
writing. Such reports shall be made under oath, or otherwise, as the 
Commission shall prescribe and shall be filed with the Commission at such 
reasonable time as it shall prescribe, unless additional time is granted in any 
case by the Commission. 
e. Upon the direction of the President or either House of Congress, investigate 
and report the facts and take appropriate actions by filing with the proper 
court the criminal and/or civil action relating to any alleged violation of this 
Act, any consumers protection laws, and other antitrust laws by any natural 
or juridical person or entity. 
f. Investigate from time to time trade conditions in and with foreign countries 
where associations, combinations, or practices of manufacturers, merchants, 
or traders, or other conditions, may affect the foreign trade of the 
Philippines. 
g. Upon the request of any government office or complaint of any person, 
investigate and make recommendations for the readjustment of the business 
of any natural or juridical person or entity whose act or course of conduct 
appears to be in violation of this Act or consumer protection laws, to enable 
such person to maintain his organization, management, and conduct of 
business in accordance with the requirements of this Act or other consumer 
protection laws. 
h. For the purpose of this Act, the Commission, or its duly authorized agents, 
shall at all times have access to, for the purpose of examination, and exercise 
the right to copy, any documentary evidence of any person being investigated 
or proceeded against; and the Commission shall have the power to require by 
subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of 
all such documentary evidence relating to any matter under investigation. 
The Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies, investigators, prosecutors, or 
special counsel shall have the authority to administer oaths, to issue 
subpoena daces tecum, to summon and compel witnesses to appear and 
testify under oath before them and or to bring books, documents and other 
papers under their control, and to secure the attendance or presence of any 
absent or recalcitrant witness. 
i. Request 
any 
government 
agency 
for 
assistance 
and 
information 
necessary in the discharge of its responsibilities under this Act, and 
examine, if necessary, pertinent records and documents in the possession of 
such government agency. The Government agency concerned shall, when 


17 
requested, furnish the Commission all records, papers and information in its 
possession relating to the matter requested. 
SECTION 25. Research, Monitoring and Reporting Functions. - The Commission 
shall perform and exercise the following powers: 
a. Conduct regular economic studies and analysis on the market structure of 
the different industries of the Philippine economy in order to determine if 
markets are too concentrated or if there are barriers and determine if the 
firms enjoying the greater share of the concentrated market are in any way 
responsible for the placement of these barriers. 
b. Make public from time to time such portions of the information obtained by 
it under this Act, except trade secrets and names of costumers, as it shall 
deem expedient in the public interest. 
c. Submit to the Congress recommendations for additional legislations for the 
regulation of trade, commerce, or industry, and provide for the publication 
of its reports and resolutions in such form and manner as may be best 
adopted for public information and use. 
d. Monitor periodically and conduct a methodical survey of prices of basic 
commodities, and whenever it shall determine that the price of an article or 
essential commodity has risen by twenty percent (20%) or more over its 
price on a determination date fixed by the appropriate administrative agency 
of the government, or when such agency deems that the prevailing prices 
should be reduced because the increase is due to monopoly, hoarding, 
injurious speculation, manipulation and profiteering, initiate and prosecute 
before the proper Regional Trial Court and/or administrative agency such 
criminal, civil and/or administrative actions or proceedings against any 
person who may have committed a violation of this Act or any consumer 
protection law. 
SECTION 26. Fiscal Autonomy. - The Antitrust Commission shall enjoy fiscal 
autonomy. Appropriations for the operation of the Commission shall, after approval, 
be automatically released in full at the beginning of every quarter. 
SECTION 27. Employment of Attorneys, Investigators, Accountants, Special 
Experts - The Commission shall employ in its staff and set the compensation of such 
attorneys, investigators, experts in the field of economics, finance, management, 
marketing and other allied fields, as well as clerks and other employees as it may find 
necessary for the proper performance of its functions. 
SECTION 28. Transparency Proceedings - In all hearings before an antitrust 
investigator designated to take testimony therein, the proceedings shall be open to the 


18 
public as freely as are trials in open court, and no order excluding the public from 
attendance on any such proceedings shall be valid or enforceable. 
SECTION 29. Detail of Certain Government Personnel - In the investigation, 
prosecution or defense of cases involving antitrust and related matters under this Act, 
the Commission shall, as much as possible, utilize its office personnel: Provided, that 
whenever practicable and convenient, the Antitrust Commissioner may, with the 
consent of the department head concerned, designate or deputize any fiscal, state 
prosecutor or lawyer in the government service to act as special investigator, 
prosecutor or counsel, in the investigation, prosecution or defense of an antitrust case 
or proceedings: Provided, Further, That the fiscal, state prosecutor or lawyer so 
deputized shall, for the purpose of such case or proceeding, be under the direct 
supervision and control of the Antitrust Commissioner or the Deputy concerned. 
SECTION 30. Investigation in Cities.- Subject to the availability of funds, the 
Antitrust Commissioner may establish field offices or units in highly urbanized cities 
and capitals of province outside Metropolitan Manila and other sensitive areas of the 
country which shall be under the direct supervision of the Deputy under whose 
jurisdiction such field office or unit is established. The Deputy concerned shall take 
charge of the investigation of a complaint for violation of this Act or any consumer 
protection laws, or the institution of a proceeding to prevent or restrain the 
Commission of a violation thereof. He shall issue such orders, directives or 
instructions that are in accord with the requirements of due process. A copy of the 
order, instruction, or directive of the Deputy concerned shall be furnished to the 
Antitrust Commissioner who may, as the interest of justice requires, revoke, set aside, 
or modify the same. 
SECTION 3 1. Duty to Render Assistance. - Any officer or employee of any office, 
agency or instrumentality of the Government, including government-owned or 
controlled corporations and local governments, whose technical or specialized 
expertise or service is urgently needed by the Antitrust Commission in connection with 
an investigation being conducted by it, or a case or proceeding being prosecuted or 
defended by it before a court or administrative agency shall, with the approval of the 
head of such office, agency or instrumentality, render the assistance requested. 
SECTION 32. Immunity from Prosecution.- 
a. In all hearings, inquiries, and proceedings being conducted by the Antitrust 
Commissioner or his Deputies, including preliminary investigations of 
complaints involving violations of this Act and other laws over which the 
Commission is vested with jurisdiction, no person subpoenaed to testify as a 
witness shall be excused from attending and testifying or from producing 


19 
books, papers, correspondence, memoranda and other records on the 
ground that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required 
of him may tend to incriminate him or subject him to prosecution of an 
offense: Provided, That no natural person shall be prosecuted criminally for 
or on account of any matter, thing, or transaction concerning which he is 
compelled, after having claimed the privilege against self-incrimination, to 
testify and produce evidence, documentary or otherwise, before the officer 
conducting the investigation in obedience to a subpoena issued by him: 
Provided, Further, That no natural person so testifying shall be exempt from 
prosecution and punishment for perjury or false testimony committed by 
him in so testifying. 
b. Under such terms and conditions as he may deem just and equitable after 
taking into account the guidelines contained in the pertinent provisions of 
the rules of Court, the Antitrust Commissioner may grant immunity from 
criminal prosecution to any natural person whose testimony or whose 
possession and production of documents or other evidence may be 
necessary to determine or, establish the truth in any hearing, inquiry or 
proceeding being conducted Under this Act: Provided, that the immunity 
granted herein shall not exempt the witness from crimina1 prosecution for 
perjury or false testimony: Provided, Further, That any person who has been 
granted immunity from prosecution under this Act but who later fails or 
refuses to appear or testify, or who turns hostile at the hearing, inquiry or 
proceeding, shall be stripped of the immunity granted him. 
VI. ANTITRUST CIVIL PROCESS 
SECTION 
33. 
Civil 
Innvestigatiue 
Demands. - 
Whenever 
the 
Antitrust 
Commissioner, his Senior Deputy Commissioner, or his Deputy in particular 
geographical area, has reason to believe that any person may be in possession, 
custody, or control of any documentary material, or may have any information, 
relevant to a civil antitrust investigation, he may, prior to the institution of a civil or 
criminal proceeding thereon, issue in writing, and cause to be served upon such 
person, a civil investigative demand requiring such person to produce such 
documentary material for inspection and copying or reproduction, to answer in writing 
written interrogatories, to give oral testimony concerning documentary material or 
information or to fiirnish any combination of such material, answers, or testimony. 
SECTION 34. Judicial Proceeding.- 
a. Whenever any person fails to comply with any civil investigative demand 
duly served upon him under Section 33 of this Act or whenever a 
satisfactory copy or reproduction of any such material cannot be done and 
such person 
refuses 
to 
surrender 
such material, 
the 
Antitrust 


20 
Commissioner or his Deputy in the geographical area concerned may file 
with the proper Regional Trial Court a petition to compel compliance with 
the provisions of this Act. 
Within ten (10) days after the service of any such civil investigative 
demand upon any person, or at any time before the return date specified in 
the demand, whichever comes first such person may file with the proper 
Regional Trial Court a petition praying for a modification or annulment of 
such demand, except that such person shall comply with any portions of the 
demand not sought to be modified or set aside. The time allowed for 
compliance with the demand shall not run during the pendency of such 
petition before the court. The petition shall specify each ground upon which 
the petitioner relies in seeking such relief. 
b. Except as otherwise provided in this Act and the Constitution, any evidence 
adduced pursuant to any civil investigative demand issued under this Act 
shall be considered privileged communication. 
SECTION 35. Document Custodian..- 
a. The Antitrust Commissioner shall designate an antitrust investigator to 
serve as custodian of documentary material received under this Act, and 
such investigators, as he shall determine to be necessary to serve as 
deputies to such officer. 
b. Any person, upon whom any demand for the production of documentary 
material has been duly served under Section 33 of this Act, shall make such 
materials available for inspection and copying or reproduction to the 
custodian designated therein at the principal place of business of such 
persons, or at such other place as agreed by the parties in writing or as the 
court may direct. Upon written agreement between parties, non-original 
copies may be submitted in lieu of originals. 
c. The custodian to whom any documentary materials are delivered shall take 
physical possession thereof, and shall be responsible for the use made 
thereof and for the preservation and return of the documentary material, 
pursuant to this Act. 
d. The custodian may cause the preparation of such copies of such 
documentary materials as may be required for official use by any duly 
authorized official or employee of the Antitrust Commission under 
regulations which shall be promulgated by the Antitrust Commissioner. 
Notwithstanding paragraph (e) of this subsection, such materials may be 
used by any such official or employee in connection with the taking of oral 
testimony pursuant to this Act. 
e. Except as otherwise provided in this section, while in the possession of the 
custodian, no documentary materials, shall be available for examination, 


21 
without the consent in writing of the person who produced such materials, 
by any individual other than a duly authorized official or employee of the 
Antitrust Commission. Nothing in this section is intended to prevent 
disclosure to either body of the Congress or to any authorized committee or 
subcommittee thereof. 
SECTION 36. Action to Prevent Violation. - Whenever the Commission shall have 
reason to believe that a person is about to commit a violation of this Act and any other 
consumer protection laws, falling under its jurisdiction, and in its opinion a 
proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the interest of the public, it shall file 
with the proper Regional Trial Court a complaint stating in particular its charges in 
that respect. The respondent shall show cause why an order should not be entered by 
the Court requiring such person to cease and desist from the violation so charged. Any 
person may make an application, and upon good cause shown, be allowed by the 
court to intervene and appear in said proceeding. If upon such hearing the court shall 
be of the opinion that the matter complained of is true, it shall issue an order or 
resolution stating its findings as to the facts, and shall issue and cause to be served 
upon the respondent a cease and desist order. Any party to the proceeding adversely 
affected by the order or ruling of the court may file an appeal to such order or ruling. 
SECTION 37. False Entry or Statement of Fact in Report. - Any person who shall 
commit the following act shall, upon conviction by the court, suffer the penalty of 
imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than ten years and a fine of not 
less than ten thousand pesos (PlO,OOO.OO) but not more than fifty thousand pesos 
(P50,000.00), at the discretion of the court: 
a. Willfidly malte or cause to be made, any false entry or statement of fact in 
any report required to be made under this Act; 
b. Willfully make or cause to be made any false entry in any account, record, 
or memorandum kept by any person subject to this Act; 
c. Willfully neglect or fail to make, or cause to be made, full, true, and correct 
entries in such accounts, records, or memoranda of all facts and 
transactions appertaining to the business of such person, or willfully remove 
the same out of the jurisdiction of the Philippines, or willfully alter, or by 
any other means falsify any documentary evidence;’ 
d. Willfully refuse to submit to the Commission or to any of its authorized 
agents, for the purpose of inspection and taking copies, any documentary 
evidence in his possession or within his control 
SECTION 38. Summons. - Whenever the Antitrust Commissioner shall have 
reason to believe that an individual or juridical person or entity or any agreement or 
contract or arrangement made or act done by such individual or juridical person or 


22 
entity in restraint of trade, commerce, or industry within the Philippines or in restraint 
of the export trade of any domestic competitor of such individual or juridical person or 
entity or that an individual or juridical person or entity either in the Philippines or 
elsewhere has entered into any agreement, arrangement, contract, understanding or 
conspiracy, or done an act which artificially or intentionally enhances or depresses 
prices in any part of the Philippines of articles, commodities or objects of trade, 
commerce, or industry of the class exported by such individual or juridical person or 
entity, or which substantially lessens competition within the Philippines or otherwise 
restrains trade, commerce, or industry therein, he shall summon such individual or 
juridical person or entity, its officers, and agents to appear before him or his deputy or 
investigator designated by him, and thereafter conduct an investigation into the 
alleged violation of this Act. If upon the close of the investigation the Antitrust 
Commissioner or his deputy or the investigator shall conclude that the law has been 
violated, he shall recommend to such individual or juridical entity the adjustment of 
its business, in order that it may thereafter maintain its organization and 
management and conduct its business in accordance with this Act. If such individual 
or entity fails to comply with the recommendation of the Antitrust Commissioner, 
deputy or investigator, the Antitrust Commissioner shall initiate or cause to be 
initiated such appropriate criminal and civil actions as he may deem proper in the 
premises. 
SECTION 39. Unfair Methods of Competition. - The prohibition against unfair 
methods of competition and the remedies provided for in this Act shall be construed as 
extending to unfair methods of competition used in export trade, even though the acts 
constituting such unfair methods are done outside the territorial jurisdiction of the 
Philippines. 
SECTION 40. Right of Injured Person to Sue. - Any person who shall be injured 
in his business or property by any person by reason of anything prohibited or declared 
to be unlawful by this Act, may sue therefor in any proper Regional Trial Court in the 
region in which the defendant resides or has committed the act complained of which 
cause injury to the person or property of the plaintiff, and shall recover threefold the 
damages sustained by him and the cost of suit, including a reasonable amount for 
attorney's fees: Provided, That this section shall be without prejudice to the right of 
the injured person to file with the Antitrust Commission the a complaint for violation 
of this Act. 
SECTION 41. Precedence in Disposition. - In all cases of violation of this Act or 
any consumer protection law wherein the Republic of the Philippines is the 
complainant or plaintiff, the Antitrust Commissioner may file with the clerk of the 
court trying the case a certificate that, in his opinion the case is of general public 


23 
importance. Thereafter, the case shall be given precedence over others and in every 
way expedited, and be assigned for hearing at the earliest practicable day. 
SECTION 42. Non-Waiver of Other Remedies.- Nothing in this Act shall be held 
to prevent or impair the right of the Antitrust Commissioner to avail himself of such 
other remedies available under this Act or any law on consumer protection 
notwithstanding his having availed of a particular remedy which turns out to be not 
adequate in the circumstances: Provided, That a judgment of conviction or acquittal 
on the merits for violation of any of the provisions of this Act shall be a bar to any 
subsequent prosecution for the came act or acts. 
SECTION 43. Rules of Procedure. - The Office of the Antitrust Commissioner 
shall promulgate the rules of procedure for the effective exercise or performance of the 
powers, fLmctions, and duties of the Commission under this Act. 
SECTION 44. Franking Privilege. - All official mail matters and telegrams of the 
Commission addressed for delivery within the Philippines, shall be received, 
transmitted and delivered free of charge: Provided, That such mail matter when 
addressed to private persons or non-government offices shall not exceed one hundred 
and twenty (120) grams. 
SECTION 45. Disclosure ofhformation - Any Deputy, officer, or employee of the 
Commission who shall make public any information obtained by the Commission 
without the prior written authority from the Antitrust Commissioner, unless directed 
by the court or other competent authority, shall, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of 
imprisonment of not less than two (2) years but not more than five (5) years, at the 
and pay a fine of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,OOO.OO) at the discretion of the court. 
VIII. FINAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 46. Funding. - The sum of One Hundred Fifty Million Pesos 
(P150,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the National Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, to finance the establishment and organization of the 
Antitrust Commission; thereafter, such amount as shall be necessary for the efficient 
operation of the Commission shall be included in the General Appropriations Act. 
SECTION 47. Organization of the Commission. - Within three (3) months from 
the effectivity of this Act, the President shall appoint the Antitrust Commissioner and 
his Deputies. Immediately upon their assumption to office, the Antitrust 
Commissioner, assisted by his Deputies, shall proceed to organize tile Commission 
and make it function as soon as possible. 


24 
SECTION 48. Existing Monopolies, Oligopolies, and Combinations. - Immediately 
upon their assumption to office, the Antitrust Commission shall investigate and make 
an accurate record of all existing monopolies, oligopolies, cartels, combinations, 
agreements and/or arrangements that are violative of the provisions or objectives of 
this Act. Within ninety (90) days, thereafter, they shall initiate such appropriate 
criminal and civil actions for the dissolution and/or dismantling of such monopolies, 
oligopolies, cartels, combinations, or the revocation of the agreements or arrangements 
which are violative of this Act: Provided, That if an existing monopoly, oligopoly, cartel 
or combination, of persons with existing agreements or arrangements that are violative 
of this Act shall signify in writing to the Antitrust Commissioner their willingness to 
voluntarily comply with the provisions of this Act, they shall be given a period of not 
exceeding two (2) years within which to dismantle, dissolve or discontinue, such 
monopoly, cartel, oligopoly, combination, arrangement or agreement, as the case may 
be: Provided, However, That during this grace period of two (2) years, it shall cease and 
desist from committing acts which will constitute a violation of this Act; Provided 
Further, That the Antitrust Commissioner shall monitor strict compliance by the 
person or persons concerned with his or their undertaking; Provided, Finally: that the 
Antitrust Commissioner shall initiate such criminal and civil actions if it turns out 
that the person or persons concerned who made such undertaking were not acting in 
good faith or have continued violating this Act. 
SECTION 49. Transfer of Powers and Functions. - The powers and functions of 
all existing units in the different departments and offices of the National Government, 
including records and applicable appropriations of such units performing the 
functions and discharging the powers expressly assigned to the Antitrust Commission 
under this Act shall be transferred to the Antitrust Commission. The personnel of the 
units affected shall. be realigned or reassigned to other units within the departments or 
offices concerned, if they qualify. Those personnel who shall not qualify shall be 
entitled to appropriate separation pay and to retirement and other benefits accruing to 
them under the Laws. Provided, That the appropriations of units whose powers and 
functions and applicable appropriations are transferred to the Antitrust Commission 
shall be used in paying the separation pay and other benefits. 
SECTION 50. Construction/Interpretation. - The provisions of this Act shall be 
liberally construed in favor of the power of the Antitrust Commission, to the end that it 
may have all the necessary powers for the efficient conduct and discharge of its 
powers and fLmctions under this Act and the laws mandating the protection for 
consumers. In case of doubt, the same shall be resolved in favor of the authority of the 
Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies to act for the protection of consumers and to 
enforce the provisions of this Act. The specific mention of particular powers in any 
section or provision of this Act shall not be construed as a limitation on the powers of 


25 
the Antitrust Commissioner and his Deputies to act in the premises under any other 
provision of this Act. 
SECTION 51. Separability Clause. - If for any reason a clause, sentence, 
paragraph, or part of this Act shall be adjudged by final judgment of a court to be 
invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the 
remainder thereof. 
SECTION 52. Repealing Clause.-The provisions of the Revised Penal Code, as 
amended, on antitrust, particularly Article 186 thereof; the provisions of the Omnibus 
Investments Code (Executive Order No. 226, as amended) particularly that portion of 
Section 12, Article 11, thereof; and all other laws, presidential decrees, letters of 
instructions, executive orders, rules and regulations and other issuances or parts 
thereof which are inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby 
expressly repealed, modified or superseded, as the case may be. 
SECTION 53. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days 
following its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) daily newspapers of 
general circulation. 
Approved,