Flashcards Studio

Two Philippine-registered manufacturers of biodegradable beverage bottles, GreenWave Plastics, Inc. and BioSeal Bottling Corp., sign a three-year joint program to harmonize safety testing and quality-control standards for their shared product lines. They jointly fund annual third-party safety assessments, appoint a joint technical-standards council, and provide that if either party fails to meet the agreed standards, the other may suspend or limit purchases from that party’s production lines. Each company maintains its own brands and distribution networks and continues to compete on price and service. The arrangement contains no price-fixing, no market allocation, and no output restrictions. The Philippine Competition Commission reviews the arrangement for possible anti-competitive concerns.
(a) Is this arrangement a per se violation, a not per se violation, or neither?
(b) State the controlling rule and the test that should be applied.
(c) Apply the rule to the facts: identify potential anti-competitive effects and any pro-competitive justifications, and conclude whether the arrangement is likely to be sustained under RA 10667.