The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) announced that it has completed its five-member commission with the appointment of lawyers Marah Victoria S. Querol and Michael B. Peloton as new commissioners at the beginning of the month.
Querol and Peloton took the places of commissioners Macario R. De Claro Jr. and Amabelle C. Asuncion whose terms of office ended last year.
Querol was senior deputy executive secretary at the Office of the Executive Secretary prior to her appointment to the PCC. As a technocrat, she rose through the ranks from being a technical assistant (Director IV) under its Strategic Initiatives Management Office in 2010-2016 to undersecretary in 2016-2022.
Aside from her post under the Office of the President, she also served as a consultant at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Home Development Mutual Fund in the early 2000s.
Querol is backed by experience in economics, business, and law, having obtained her Juris Doctor degree and Master of Business Administration degree at the Ateneo de Manila University, and her Economics degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Her public service record is also complemented by her years in the private sector through various legal firms.
Meanwhile, Peloton is previously a board director at the Philippine Reclamation Authority. He was appointed by the Insurance Commission as overseer in 2019 and served as technical assistant at the Office of the President in 2016 and as a consultant thereafter.
Peloton spent 17 years in private law practice. He was a Constitutional Law professor at the Ateneo de Davao University and an IT professor at the University of Immaculate Conception. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws and Computer Science degrees at the Ateneo De Davao University.
The new appointees complete the existing commission led by chairperson Arsenio M. Balisacan, and joined by commissioners Johannes R. Bernabe and Emerson B. Aquende, whose fixed terms are ending in January 2023. Querol and Peloton will be in office until January 2028.
