According to the Philippine Competition Commission's (PCC) press release dated 30 October 2026, the PCC found a holding company and a power generation company solidarily liable for administrative penalties amounting to P5.8 million for violating Section 29(b) of Republic Act No. 10667, the Philippine Competition Act. The penalty stems from the repeated failure of the respondents to strictly comply with the mandatory reporting obligations tied to their merger clearance.

Following the ruling, the power generation company fully settled the P5.8 million administrative fine on 16 October 2026, with the proceeds remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Background

The release states that the case arose from a major transaction involving the acquisition of equity interests in key power generation and industrial entities by the power generation company and another company, through two other companies. To address competition concerns regarding coordinated effects in the sale of energy and unilateral exercise of market power in the energy sector, the parties submitted voluntary commitments embodied in an Undertaking. The Commission accepted these commitments, allowing the transaction to proceed subject to the parties' strict compliance with the commitments and the other terms and conditions provided in the Undertaking.

The reporting obligation

Section 2.2 of the Undertaking requires the notifying parties to submit to the PCC's Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO), within 15 days from the end of each calendar quarter, copies of the Comparative Retail Electricity Market (CREM) reports submitted by the retail electricity supplier (RES) entities to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Following a complaint filed by the MAO, the Commission evaluated reporting delays involving a RES subsidiary of the holding company (the subsidiary).

The Commission's findings

  • Three counts. The Commission found the respondents liable for three counts of non-compliance due to the belated submission of the subsidiary's CREM reports for the first, second and third quarters of 2025.
  • Length of delays. The first-quarter report was delayed by 215 days, the second-quarter report by 126 days and the third-quarter report by 34 days.
  • Defenses rejected. The Commission dismissed the respondents' defense that the delays were attributable to oversight, simple human error and misunderstanding of the requirements.
  • ERC flexibility. The PCC ruled that the respondents could not invoke flexibility in the submission of the CREM reports under ERC regulatory resolutions, as the timeline for compliance originated from their own voluntary undertaking.

Statement of the PCC Chairperson

In the release, PCC Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo said: “Voluntary commitments submitted as a condition for merger approval are binding obligations that must be fulfilled in good faith.” He added: “Strict compliance remains the general rule, particularly in pre-identified priority sectors like energy.”

Source: PCC press release dated 30 October 2026.

This alert was prepared by OS Law. This alert is for general information only and is not legal advice.