Philippines: PCC probes rice importers

Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), the government’s antitrust body, is to launch an investigation against rice traders who may have been undervaluing their imports to the detriment of Filipino consumers.

This, as the agency moved closer to securing Supreme Court’s green light to PCC’s proposed Rules on Inspection Orders, which will allow the agency to conduct dawn raids and more means to obtain evidence against parties suspected of anti-competitive practices.

“We are looking at it [the misdeclaration of rice imports], definitely. We are looking at the parties involved. The competition commission is a quasi-judicial body that has an investigative power,” PCC Chairperson Arsenio Balisacan said in an interview with reporters.

Full Content: Manila Bulletin

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