BusinessWorld June 7, 2021 | 12:33 am Reporter MERGERS that have avoided government scrutiny since a suspension on some reviews could be difficult to unwind, a competition watchdog commissioner said as he urged Congress to retain the agencyâs authority to assess mergers in the proposed Bayanihan III law. Johannes Benjamin R. Bernabe, a commissioner at the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), said he hoped Bayanihan III will not extend the exemption from compulsory notification all mergers and acquisitions with transaction value of less than P50 billion that were entered into two years from the effectivity of Republic Act No. 11494 or Bayanihan II. âI just hope that (Bayanihan III) will not go in the direction of Bayanihan II, which had a last-minute insertion which curbed the powers of the PCC,â Mr. Bernabe said in a phone interview.