Billionaire Manuel B. Villar denied allegations of price manipulation and insider trading filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), describing the charges as baseless while vowing to defend his family’s business reputation. Villar, the Philippines’ richest person, said in a...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed criminal charges against Villar Land Holdings Corp., its top executives, and related entities for alleged market manipulation and insider trading. In a complaint filed with the Department of Justice on Jan. 30, the regulator accused the company of...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has overhauled the guidelines governing the registration of qualified buyers for private stock placements, moving to standardize how banks and brokerages vet high-net-worth investors. The corporate regulator issued Memorandum Circular No. 5, Series of...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is tightening its grip on boardroom oversight, moving to permanently bar independent directors from serving more than nine years in a single company. In line with international best practices, the Commission issued on Jan. 26, 2026, SEC Memorandum...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is easing capital-raising rules for smaller businesses, removing a costly auditing hurdle in a bid to accelerate corporate expansion and reduce bureaucratic friction. The regulator issued Memorandum Circular No. 6 on Jan. 22, which expands the use of...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to release a series of regulatory overhauls aimed at loosening listing requirements for large-scale initial public offerings (IPOs) while tightening governance standards for corporate boards. On the sidelines of a Financial Executives...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will launch on Jan. 30, 2026, its Hierarchical and Applicable Relations and Beneficial Ownership Registry (HARBOR) for the dedicated online submission of beneficial ownership (BO) reports by registered companies. The launch of HARBOR, a web-based...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is exempting micro-enterprises from the requirement to submit audited financial statements, a move intended to lower the cost of doing business for the country’s smallest corporations. Under Memorandum Circular No. 4, Series of 2026, the regulator...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to accelerate corporate filings, issuing new rules that slash processing times for companies seeking to amend their governing documents. In a memorandum circular released Jan. 12, the regulator expanded the scope of its digital filing system to...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended by three to six months the period during which micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can avail themselves of the 20- to 50-percent discount on incorporation and securities registration fees. To give MSMEs more time to register and...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has amended the rules governing real estate investment trusts (REITs), expanding the scope of REIT-able income-generating assets and allowing the use of established investment structures, including unlisted special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has authorized La Union Electric Co. Inc. to proceed with a ₱251 million direct public offering, the second utility to utilize the regulator’s expedited registration process to fund infrastructure upgrades. The San Fernando-based power distributor...
