By James Konstantin Galvez ( February 6, 2026, 05:59 GMT | Insight) -- The Philippine Competition Commission is overhauling how it handles merger filings to improve turnaround times, particularly for deals that pose minimal competition concerns, while keeping closer watch on consumer-sensitive sectors. Officials said the changes are intended to cut procedural bottlenecks and pre-review delays, allowing staff to focus more on competitive effects as dealmaking activity stays robust and notification thresholds are set to increase.The Philippine Competition Commission, or PPC, is reviewing its internal merger review processes to speed up deal assessments, while keeping the agency’s attention on sectors with clear consumer impact, PCC Chairman Michael Aguinaldo told MLex.Aguinaldo said the commission is working on new guidelines to support faster reviews for transactions unlikely to raise competition concerns, as part of a broader effort to improve efficiency without diluting enforcement.“The aim [is] reducing unnecessary repetition and shortening review timelines without weakening scrutiny,” Aguinaldo said. “We’re looking at how we process data, the kind of information we ask for and whether there are ways to speed up the process.”Under existing rules, the PCC has up to 30 days to complete a Phase 1 review of notifiable transactions, although lower-risk cases can already be cleared earlier, with some resolved in as little as 15 days.Aguinaldo stressed that the streamlining initiative is distinct from the PCC’s expedited merger-review regime introduced in 2023, which allows qualified transactions to be assessed within 15 working days.PCC Executive Director Kenneth Tanate said the commission has consistently met its statutory review deadlines since its establishment in 2016.“No merger has ever been deemed approved because the PCC failed to act within 30 days,” Tanate said.Tanate said delays commonly attributed to the PCC’s review process typically occur before the statutory clock even starts.Before formally commencing its review, the commission must first determine whether merger notifications are complete. “In many cases, there are missing documents,” Tanate said, adding that parties — particularly in complex transactions — frequently request extensions at the submission stage. Further clarifications during review can also lead to additional time, he said.For more straightforward transactions in unconcentrated sectors such as real estate and construction, reviews typically take between 15 and 30 days, reflecting lower competition risks, Tanate said.Tanate said the PCC previously examined whether merger-notification thresholds could be made sector-specific, but concluded that the approach was too complex and economically unviable.Instead, he said the agency is looking to draw on its own case experience to simplify internal procedures.One proposed reform would allow the PCC to rely more heavily on its existing corporate and ownership database. Where parties share the same ultimate parent or ownership structure is already on record, the commission would no longer need to re-establish control relationships from scratch.Review efforts would instead focus on whether the specific transaction or subsector could materially affect market competition, Tanate said.Currently, PCC reviewers often revalidate ownership and corporate data with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other government agencies, even where similar information has been submitted in earlier filings. Tanate said this verification process slows reviews.Under the proposed changes, missing documents could be retrieved internally, allowing the commission to concentrate on competitive effects rather than ownership mapping.The PCC’s push to improve efficiency comes as it seeks to balance ease of doing business with its mandate to prevent mergers that could substantially lessen competition and harm consumers.The commission expects merger activity to remain active, although Aguinaldo said it is too early to make firm projections for the year. Adding uncertainty, statutory merger-notification thresholds will increase in March to reflect nominal GDP growth, a mandatory adjustment under the Philippine Competition Act.Since 2016, the PCC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office has reviewed 317 merger notifications.In 2024 alone, the MAO received 29 notifications. The sectors with the most transactions included transportation and storage, financial and insurance services, electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply, and wholesale and retail trade (including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles).Please e-mail editors@mlex.com to contact the editorial staff regarding this story, or to submit the names of lawyers and advisers....