SEC opens extension office in Tacloban

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is opening the new SEC Tacloban Extension Office (EO) to bring its services closer to Eastern Visayas. The Commission on May 11 officially inaugurated the SEC Tacloban EO which is located on the second floor of the National Economic and Development Authority Regional Office VIII building, Government Center in Barangay Baras, Palo, Leyte. The SEC Tacloban EO is envisioned to address the business registration needs and investment activities in Eastern Visayas, given the rising level of economic activity and presence of economic zones in the region. As of May 2023, there are a total of 10,456 corporations registered with the SEC in Eastern Visayas. Companies previously had to travel to the SEC Cebu EO to avail of the Commission’s services. “Today, we are not only celebrating the inauguration of the SEC Tacloban Extension Office, but also ushering in an even more conducive and more robust environment for business and investment in Eastern Visayas,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said. He added that, “Pursuant to the SEC’s mandate of championing the corporate sector, the SEC Tacloban Extension Office will serve as a gateway to doing business in Eastern Visayas.” The SEC Tacloban EO marks the Commission’s 10th extension office in the country after Baguio, Tarlac, Legazpi, Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Zamboanga, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. It is also the fourth in the Visayas region. The opening of SEC Tacloban EO is part of the Commission’s goal of expanding its services across the country, as it pursues its mandate as the national government regulatory agency charged with supervision over the corporate sector, the capital market participants, the securities and investment instruments market, and the protection of the investing public.