SEC defends circulars that business groups wanted abolished
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has defended the circulars that business groups want to be abolished, claiming that it doesn’t issue orders that are unfavorable for the business community.
It was on Friday when three of the country’s biggest business groups have sought the support of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and National Competitiveness Council (NCC) regarding their proposed abolition of some issuances made by the SEC.
The joint position paper was issued by Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).
On the memorandum circular (MC) that requires directors and officers to attend annual training, SEC claimed that this requirement ensures that corporate officers in the country keep abreast with the latest in good corporate governance practices and principles.
“The SEC cannot underscore enough the importance of ensuring that directors and key officers are kept up-to-date with recent practices and developments in corporate governance. This yearly training requirement is recognized by other ASEAN countries and is not only required for Philippine PLCs [publicly-listed companies],” SEC said in a statement.
“Proper and sufficient training for said corporate officers is key to the development of a strong corporate governance culture among Philippine PLCs,” it added.
The SEC also defended the allegation that requiring corporate officials to attend the training would be costly and would require a lot of time.
“To encourage efficient use of corporate funds, SEC MC No. 2, series of 2015, allows for in-house corporate governance training seminars which may either be those conducted by a company on its own or those conducted in partnership with accredited training providers,” the agency said.
“As such, the company can schedule the trainings at their convenience as well as limit the expenses for the same,” it added.
SEC also noted that foreign directors need not travel to the Philippines to attend training since the same MC states that foreign directors who have previously attended corporate governance trainings covering the mandated topics of the SEC are exempted from complying with the said order.
On requiring principal office address of corporation, the SEC also claimed that it has already relaxed this rule.
To ease the burden on affected corporations and partnerships in amending their Articles of Incorporation or Partnership when there is a change in the principal office address, SEC issued SEC MC 16 (2014).
“The latter circular no longer requires the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation and Partnership when the entity had moved or moves to another location but stays within the same city or municipality. However, the entities must declare their new or current specific address in their General Information Sheet [GIS] within 15 days from transfer to their new location,” SEC specified.
“As the corporate watchdog, the SEC, in pursuit of full disclosure in all filings and applications, has to ensure no fraud or misrepresentation is committed by filers and applicants,” SEC noted.