EO 45 a mere superfluity?

A number of quarters have raised serious misgivings on the just-issued Executive Order No. 45 which created the Office for Competition under the Department of Justice and designated the DOJ as Competition Authority.

EO 45 mandates the DOJ to “investigate all cases involving violations of competition laws and prosecute violators to prevent, restrain and punish monopolization, cartels and combinations in restraint of trade… and to “enforce competition policies and laws to protect consumers from abusive, fraudulent, or harmful corrupt business practices and monitor and implement measures to promote transparency and accountability in markets…”

The Office for Competition, which is to carry out the provisions of the EO is to be manned by a staff that will include legal and technical experts, consultants and resource persons to effectively and efficiently pursue its mandate.

But isn’t it that the laws against cartels, monopolies, and combinations in restraint of trade, as well as their implementing rules, already identify which government agencies are tasked to carry them out? In the case of commodities, the same is under the Department of Trade and Industries (DTI). For power, it is the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). With respect to telecommunications, the same is under the jurisdiction of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

EO 45 is seen by many as Malacañang’s response to the acquisition by PLDT of rival Digitel.  This came after President Aquino expressed concern about the merger.

The NTC by law is vested with jurisdiction in the supervision and control over all telco and broadcast services / facilities in the Philippines” which includes among others the power to prepare, plan and conduct studies for policy and regulatory purposes, monitor the operation of all telco and broadcast activities, and enforce applicable domestic and international laws, rules and regulations, prosecute violations thereof, and impose appropriate penalties/sanctions.

Since the NTC is tasked to regulate the telco industry to ensure that competition is fostered among industry players, doesn’t that make the Office for Competition a mere redundancy?

And what happens when the NTC and the Office for Competition make different findings on a case both brought before them?

The NTC is created by law and the Office for Competition, by a mere EO. Isn’t that taking away from the NTC a power bestowed upon it by law?

Closer to home

 Environment advocate Gina Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation, continues to preach about the negative impacts of mining and how it alters the environment.

In her recent visit to Manicani Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, for instance, Lopez said she was “saddened” by the destruction wrought on the island by mining and how it affected the flow of the water from the mountain which caused siltation in the sea. The barangay captains and the Mayor of Guiuan, however are on the side of Hinatuan Mining Company.

Speaking to an audience that included priests, nuns, lay leaders and local officials, Lopez said Eastern Samar was a very beautiful place that should be preserved. She warned that allowing mining would destroy these riches, which could never be recovered. She urged Samareños to resist efforts to destroy the environment, adding that she could help them promote the province as a tourist destination.

But some sectors have asked Lopez to look into environmental issues closer to home.

Environmentalists and members of the clergy in Negros Occidental grouped under the Save Mt. Kanlaon Coalition (SMKC) recently urged  President Aquino to shut down permanently the operations of the Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant (NNGPP) in Barangay Mailum, Bago City. They are also seeking the return of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park (MKNP) to the people.

The geothermal power plant is operated by Energy Development Corp. (EDC), which is owned by the Lopez family. EDC officials announced last week that the P8-billion NNGPP would stop operations in July for further study of the plant’s geothermal resources.

 According to the SMKC, EDC has built its well pads in the buffer zone 15 meters from the MKNP protected area, which enabled the company to enter one and a half kilometers of the MKNP protected area through underground directional drilling.

The environmental group also called for a halt to further environmental abuse and destruction at the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park by EDC.

The SMKC and the Negros Environment said they were appalled that the geothermal project has cut down thousands of endangered forest trees, destroyed and dislocated countless wild flora and fauna, contaminated with toxic effluents upland waterways and permanently altered the landscape and territorial boundaries of the MKNP.

Who’s really No. 1

Here’s some information shared with us by GMA Network.

According to Nielsen TV’s Audience Measurement, which GMA says has a bigger sample size compared to Kantar Media in Mega Manila (880 versus 770 homes) and National Urban Philippines (2,005 versus 1,370 homes), more households in Total Urban Luzon were attuned to GMA with its leads over ABS-CBN increasing from 6.4 share points in May to 6.9 points in partial June (June 1 to 15). In Mega Manila, GMA also had a 1.1-point margin over ABS in May.

Both Total Urban Luzon and Mega Manila are important areas to the trade as these make up the bulk of household televisions in the country.

 Nielsen data also revealed that GMA news programs are more trusted by the public. In Mega Manila, banner newscast 24 Oras inked 1.7- and 2.2- household share point margins over TV Patrol for May and partial June (June 1 to 15), respectively; while in Urban Luzon, 24 Oras led counterpart newscast by 0.5 point and 1.5 points, respectively, for the mentioned periods.

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