WHEREAS, Sections 13 and 19, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution provide that the State shall pursue a trade policy that serves the general welfare and utilizes all forms and arrangements of exchange on the basis of equality and reciprocity and shall regulate or prohibit monopolies when the public interest so requires;

WHEREAS, Executive Order (EO) No. 45 (s. 2011), has designated the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the Competition Authority and created under the Department the Office for Competition to carry out the duties and responsibilities set forth in the said EO;

WHEREAS, in carrying out the mandate provided under EO 45, the Office for Competition had the occasion to observe from its foreign counterpart, particularly the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Region, the benefits of competitive markets and the harmful effects of anti-competitive practices to the citizens; and

WHEREAS, as part of a global family implementing competition policy and law, we join our colleagues in the global competition network in the observance of œWorld Competition Day  on the 5 th day of December of every year.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO, III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare 5 December of every year as the œ National Competition Day. 

The DOJ-Office for Competition shall plan and implement appropriate activities and/or ceremonies for the observance of the National Competition Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this 18 th day of May, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twelve.

 

(SGD.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.
Executive Secretary