The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), the country’s anti-trust watchdog, has favored the opening of last mile logistics (delivery services), a sector that is primarily dominated by small Filipino ventures in the country’s bustling logistics industry.

PCC Chairman Arsenio Balisacan explained during a press conference for the 4th Manila Forum on Competition in Developing Countries (FCDC), which opened Monday, Feb. 22, that the opening of the logistics industry to foreign competition even to the last mile or the delivery services to the customers would be good for the industry.

He cited the importance of players in the last mile logistics to enhance and further improve the ambitions of better quality services. Balisacan said that the entry of foreign investors is not just good in terms of capital infusion but also the much-needed technology.

 The PCC chief noted that in many cases, the small and medium enterprises in many Philippine neighbors prosper from the last mile all the way to ports because of the integrated logistics that is benefitting smaller firms.

 Balisacan, however, stressed that PCC would be mindful of initial impact on SMEs when the logistics industry, which is now limited to 40 percent foreign ownership under the Public Services Act, is amended.

“That is where government should come so that adjustments should not be so painful,” he said. He stressed that a sustained implementation of reforms should ensure that everybody are winners in that process.

PCC Commissioner Jahannes Bernabe also stressed that importance of the Public Services Act amendments of which PCC has been supporting and which is now in Congress is that the last mile would benefit a lot from investments which could come in from foreign capital. He said the foreign capital not only complements the local industry but also the kind of technology that would allow the country to jumpstart into the 4th Industrial Revolution.

For this year’s  4th Manila Forum on Competition in Developing Countries (FCDC), PCC highlighted the push to adopt a competition lens in policy responses towards economic recovery in the new normal.

With the theme “Enabling Resilient Supply Chains and Innovation Spaces in Southeast Asia’s New Normal: The Role of Competition Policy,” the FCDC aims to tackle the challenges facing regional supply chains and the role of dynamic competition in fostering supply chain resiliency and technological innovation post-pandemic.

“Enabling more resilient supply chains through competition policy brings us closer to ensuring not just robust economic growth but also the protection of vulnerable groups. Supply chain resiliency safeguards the poor from sharp price increases or sudden shortages, and affords workers greater productivity and flexibility despite disruptions,” said Balisacan.