Anti-Trust Safeguards.
Section 11
SEC. 11. Anti-Trust Safeguards. - To ensure fair competition and prevent cartels and monopolies in the Industry, the following acts are hereby prohibited: Cartelization which means any agreement, combination or concerted action by refiners, importers and/or dealers, or their representatives, to fix prices, restrict outputs or divide markets, either by products or by areas, or allocate markets, either by products or by areas, in restraint of trade or free competition, including any contractual stipulation which prescribes pricing levels and profit margins; Predatory pricing which means selling or offering to sell any oil product at a price below the seller's or offeror's average variable cost for the purpose of destroying competition, eliminating a competitor or discouraging a potential competitor from entering the market: Provided, however, That pricing below average variable cost in order to match the lower price of the competitor and not for the purpose of destroying competition shall not be deemed predatory pricing. For purposes of this prohibition, "variable cost" as distinguished from "fixed cost," refers to costs such as utilities or raw materials, which vary as the output increases or decreases and "average variable cost" refers to the sum of all variable costs divided by the number of units of outputs. Any person, including but not limited to the chief operating officer, chief executive officer or chief finance officer of the partnership, corporation or any entity involved, who is found guilty of any of the said prohibited acts shall suffer the penalty of three (3) to seven (7) years imprisonment, and a fine ranging from One million pesos (P1,000,000) to Two million pesos (P2,000,000).