President Aquino to Speak at Asia's Largest Conference on Competition Policy and Law

27 August 2013

The Department of Justice announced today that President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III has confirmed his attendance to deliver the  keynote address at the 8th  East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy (EAC) set on 28 August 2013 in Manila - the first time the country is hosting the most significant convergence of competition authorities and experts through the DOJ's Office for Competition (DOJ-OFC).

The EAC is a regional gathering of competition experts, academicians and business representatives from the East Asia Region  to advocate for the importance of competition policy. Since 2004, the EAC has been held almost annually with participants from 16 economies.

Among the personalities attending the event are Mr. Rodney Sims, Chairman of Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Mr. Kazuyuki Sugimoto, Chairman of Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), Mr. Muhammad Nawir Messi, Chairman of Indonesia Competition Authority (KPPU), and Mr. Mung Van Bach, Director General of Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA).

"The theme of the conference, The Impact of Competition Policy and Law to the Market Economy, is timely and designed to study the link between good governance, the role of law towards developing the full human potential in the context of a free and fair and functioning society," said Secretary of Justice Leila M. De Lima.

This year's conference is jointly organized by the DOJ Office for Competition, the JFTC, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Secretary De Lima will officially welcome the delegates while Mr.  Sugimoto of the JFTC will deliver a message. Immediately after the EAC, the senior officials of the participating competition authorities will proceed to the 9th East Asia Top Level Officials' Meeting on Competition Policy (EATOP), a closed-door event to enhance cooperation and promote information exchange within the region.

"We are pleased that as one of the world's newest competition authorities, the DOJ Office for Competition was chosen to host the back-to-back events in view of its regional role and increased international profile," said Mr. Sugimoto.

The Philippines through Assistant Secretary Geronimo L. Sy, head of the OFC, currently chairs the ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC) and was recently included as member of the International Competition Network (ICN). 

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