The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) credited outgoing Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino for championing reforms that paved the way toward a more business-friendly and innovative corporate sector and efficient capital market.

“When I started my term, I envisioned an SEC that empowers entrepreneurs, protects investors, and makes doing business easier and simpler for the Filipino people. I am proud of what we have accomplished over the past seven years—from modernizing business registration to expanding access to capital and strengthening investor protection,” Aquino said.

He added that “These reforms were not just milestones. They were meaningful steps toward building a more inclusive, efficient, and trustworthy capital market. I am hopeful that the Commission will continue pushing boundaries and embracing innovation to serve the Filipino people even better.”

The Commission said that, following his appointment as chairperson in 2018, Aquino rolled out his SuperVision to transform the Philippine business sector (and be) considered among the best in Southeast Asia.

“At the heart of this SuperVision is digitalization, which we see as the crucial component to improving the ease of doing business in the Philippines,” Aquino said.

The SEC began its digital transformation in 2021, taking advantage of the pandemic lockdown to rollout new digital tools that automated its key services such as company registration, submission of annual reports, and transaction payments.

The first wave of the SEC digital initiatives included the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC), its subsystem, One Day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies (OneSEC), the Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST), and the Electronic System for Payments to the SEC (eSPAYSEC).

In 2023, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself joined the Commission in unveiling the second wave of digital innovations. This was followed by two more waves of digital reforms in 2024 and 2025, which further improved both business efficiency and internal processes of the SEC.

With the ease of registration and submission brought by these digital tools, the SEC hit record numbers in the number of new business registrations and the filing of the reportorial requirements.

The increased compliance rate was among the contributions of the SEC in improving access to beneficial ownership data, which ultimately helped the Philippines exit the Financial Action Task Force grey list earlier this year.

To further promote transparency in beneficial ownership data, the SEC recently launched the Hierarchical and Applicable Relations and Beneficial Ownership Registry (HARBOR) as part of the fourth wave of its digital initiatives.

HARBOR is an online platform dedicated to the submission and updating of beneficial ownership information, enabling the provision of faster and more reliable data to businesses, regulators and government agencies.

“The SEC would not have reached these milestones without our digital transformation. These tools did not only improve the services we provide, but has also strengthened our capacity to perform our mandate as the country’s corporate registrar and securities regulator,” Aquino said.

In 2025, the Commission also launched SEC AInnovation, an AI-enabled chatbot offering real-time, multilingual assistance on SEC regulations, available 24/7 in English, Filipino, Bisaya and other languages.

Beyond making it easier to set up a business, Aquino championed alternative avenues to capital to help both large and small businesses thrive.

Under Aquino’s term, the SEC hit the target of having 888 companies tapping the capital market in time for its 88th anniversary in 2024.

The Commission also simplified securities registration processes for key industries, such as hospitals, agribusiness, energy, and property, to encourage broader participation in the capital market.

In 2024, the Commission launched the SEC Strategic Sandbox to support the pilot testing of innovative financial products.

Aquino also spearheaded the launch of new guidelines covering crypto-asset securities and crypto-asset services providers under SEC Memorandum Circular Nos. 4 and 5, Series of 2025, in support of the Commission’s goal of encouraging financial innovation while promoting investor protection.

Aquino’s term yielded significant legal victories against investment scams. In 2023, the SEC secured the conviction of those behind Kapa Community Ministry International, considered the largest investment scam in Philippine history which allegedly amassed over P50 billion from investors.

The Commission also intensified its campaign against illegal lending, with the SEC revoking the corporate registration of over 2,000 lending companies which have been conducting lending activities without the necessary license.

Aquino organized the SEC Capital Market Promotion and Advocacy Inter-agency Network (SEC Campaign Network) to enhance collaboration with agencies from both the private and public sectors in the fight against investment scams.

In 2024, the SEC launched an aggressive campaign against advance fee scams—an emerging modus operandi that preys on borrowers by collecting upfront payments for loans that are never disbursed.

Under his term, Aquino also positioned corporations as engines of positive change by promoting good corporate governance and sustainability.

In 2019, the SEC issued sustainability reporting guidelines for publicly listed companies that urged corporations to report the impacts of their business practices on the environment, with the goal of recalibrating their strategies to incorporate more sustainable practices.

Believing that reform starts from within, Aquino strengthened the Commission’s internal workforce during his term.

In 2024, the Commission earned Silver Accreditation from Investors in People (IiP) and was named one of the country’s best employers.

The SEC also became the first national government agency to receive PRIME-HRM Level III from the Civil Service Commission and Philippine Quality Award Level 3 from the Office of the President, affirming its commitment to organizational excellence.

As proof of financial transparency and good housekeeping, the SEC maintained a seven-year streak of unmodified opinions from the Commission on Audit during Aquino’s term.

With the many reforms he has introduced during his term, Aquino also received multiple recognitions from both local and global bodies.

Notably, he was named the CEO of the Year during the 2022 IDC Future Enterprise Awards; the first Public Sector Innovator awardee during the 2023 Mansmith Innovation Awards; one of the Top 100 CPAs in the Philippines during the Accountancy Centenary celebration in 2023; and The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) award from JCI Senate Philippines in 2024.