The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has fined the Boracay Business Administration of Scuba Shops (BBASS) and 39 affiliated dive operators a combined P2.17 million for operating what regulators described as an illegal price-fixing arrangement that suppressed competition in one of the country’s premier tourism destinations.
In a decision released Friday, the PCC found that the association orchestrated and enforced a multi-year agreement requiring member dive shops to comply with minimum prices for scuba services, a per se violation of Section 14(a)(1) of the Philippine Competition Act.
The Commission also ordered BBASS and its members to immediately cease and desist from implementing the anti-competitive scheme.
The ruling showed that BBASS relied on its 2016 rules and subsequent pricing agreements adopted in 2018 and 2019 to eliminate price competition among members.
The arrangement set minimum rates of P3,000 for discover scuba diving and as much as P25,000 for open water diver certification courses.
Operators were also barred from offering promotional incentives—including free dives, meals, T-shirts and underwater photographs—while commissions for hotels, tour guides and booking agents were capped at 10 percent.
Violators faced monetary penalties and possible suspension of operations.
BBASS defended the pricing rules as necessary to promote diver safety, protect local livelihoods and maintain industry standards, adding that the arrangement was implemented with the knowledge of the local government.
The PCC rejected those arguments, stressing that price-fixing agreements are inherently anti-competitive and cannot be justified by claims of efficiency, safety or industry protection.
The case highlights the regulator’s increasingly assertive enforcement of competition rules beyond traditional industries, extending scrutiny to tourism and local business associations.
For Boracay, where tourism competitiveness hinges on both service quality and price, the decision sends a clear message that industry coordination should focus on raising standards—not fixing prices at the expense of consumers.
