Manila: Two landmark laws aimed at further opening the country to fair trade and competition were signed by President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday.

Republic Act 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act, and Republic Act 10668 or Foreign Ships Co-Loading Act (Cabotage Law) aims to liberalise the investing environment and level the playing field for local and foreign businesses, Aquino said at the presidential palace.

In his speech, Aquino noted the importance of the Philippine Competition Act and the amendments to the Cabotage Law, which were among the priority measures in the Congress. He said the two enacted measures does away with archaic laws formulated during the time when the country’s economy was held hostage by cartels.

“With the enactment of the Philippine Competition Act, we can now say that there is true competition in the market. Now, businesses can equally compete because we have removed the so-called ‘under the table’ arrangements that had for so long put small businesses at a disadvantage,” said Aquino.

As for amendments to the Cabotage Law or the Foreign Ships Co-Loading Act, Aquino said the changes will result in lower shipping costs for export as well as import shipments because foreign vessels can now carry imported cargoes to any Philippine port.

It has long been a complaint that the reason why goods are expensive in the Philippines — either those produced locally or from abroad — is because of the cost of shipping the commodities.

“Because of the lack of competition, shipping a container from Cagayan de Oro to Hong Kong it will set you back $1,264 because of the transshipment costs since the cargo would have to be shipped first to Manila before to Hong Kong. But with the amendments to the Cabotage Law, the shipper can ship directly to Cagayan de Oro from Hong Kong and pay only the actual cost of $500 to $764 per container thus saving on time and cost,” Aquino said.

The President said the two bills had been finally ratified by Congress after 25 years.

For his part, Senate President Franklin Drilon said the Philippine Competition Act, and the Cabotage Amendments are “milestones” of the Congress’ reform agenda.

Drilon said that both houses of Congress remain committed to the administration’s drive “to institutionalise a culture of accountability and transparency.”

“A year from now, when history is written, the reforms that the Aquino administration put in place will certainly be highlighted,” Drilon said.

Drilon stressed how “Congress, for all our shortcomings, did its share in enacting laws to liberalise the investing environment, level the playing field, strengthen the rule of law, among others.”

He pointed to the new Philippine Competition Act, which will create a “competition policy that outlaws and penalises anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.”

Similarly, he said that the amendments to the Cabotage Law “opens the market to competition, brings down cost of transportation by sea, and enables the country to fully utilise the supply chains for products.”

“With the signing of these two laws, we can say that the Philippines is now better-equipped to face the challenges of the future,” he said.