MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) have forged a partnership to strengthen enforcement and coordination in addressing competition and data privacy issues in the digital economy.
In a statement, the PCC said a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed during a virtual ceremony led by PCC chairperson Arsenio Balisacan and NPC chairperson and privacy commissioner John Henry Naga yesterday for the agencies’ collaboration on the implementation of policies and investigation of cases involving competition and data privacy.
“With the rise of the digital economy, data – including personal data—have become an important source of market power. It falls upon regulators to ensure that data-driven markets develop and mature in a manner that does not harm consumer welfare. With their respective mandates to promote competition and data privacy, there is a need to develop a united approach between the PCC and the NPC,” Balisacan said.
Under the MOA, the PCC and NPC would be able to provide investigation and enforcement support when needed.
The two agencies would also be able to form joint task forces, as well as cooperate on notification of matters of common concern.
In addition, the MOA will enable the agencies to consult each other in the drafting and implementation of policies concerning each other’s expertise.
The agencies also agreed to conduct capacity-building activities including training.
With the accumulation and use of “big data” by dominant market players being subject of regulatory scrutiny in many other jurisdictions, PCC said greater collaboration with the NPC would be needed in order to address risks of abuses emerging in the areas of data privacy and competition.
“In today’s digital economy, data play a key role in the business model of many firms. The synergy we are forming through this agreement is a springboard for stronger enforcement of our competition and data privacy laws,” Balisacan said.
PCC’s MOA with NPC is the antitrust watchdog’s first institutional collaboration for this year.
Apart from the NPC, Balisacan said the PCC would be forging partnerships with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations, as well as counterpart competition authorities such as the Japan Fair Trade Commission, Korea Fair Trade Commission, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission this year to help in the fulfillment of its mandate.
To date, the PCC has 25 partnerships with government agencies, counterpart competition authorities and other organizations.