Amicus Curiae

Just recently, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) published the draft Joint Venture Guidelines (Draft Guidelines) aimed to help businesses determine when a joint venture shall be subject to compulsory notification pursuant to its power to issue guidelines on competition matters for the effective enforcement of the Philippine Competition Act (PCA).

Business is an ever-changing landscape. It finds ways to create assets, improve what has been already done, and maximize utility at the least possible cost.

Bureaucracy teaches us two things: to wait and to execute everything in triplicate.

Consumer personal data has played an increasingly pivotal role in many markets and economies.

One of the policy declarations of the Philippine Competition Act (Republic Act No. 10667, or the PCA) is to “[p]enalize all forms of anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions, with the objective of protecting consumer welfare and advancing domestic and international trade and economic development [Section 2(c)].

To maintain a trademark registration with the Philippine Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL), the registrant must use the mark in commerce and submit a Declaration of Actual Use.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recognizing the financial sophistication of trust funds, released on April 20, the proposed rules and regulations on determining whether a trust fund is a qualified buyer (Proposed Rules).

German-American socialist editor and author, Oscar Ameringer, once said: “Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.”

Almost four (4) years have lapsed since the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, or Republic Act 10533 (RA 10533), introduced the Enhanced Basic Education Program or the K to 12 to the Philippines. By now, we have our first graduates of the K-to-12 Program.

The law cannot just be gauged on the basis of its provision. One should consider how its administrator views it. It should be recalled Congress recently passed the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, with the veto of its certain provisions.