HOUSE prosecution spokesperson Ace Barbers called for stricter enforcement of corporate reporting requirements and tougher penalties after a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official testified during the Senate impeachment trial that companies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte had no audited financial statements on file.
“Kaya sa tingin ko dapat higpitan mabuti kung maaaring maglagay ng mas maanghang na penalty, mas maganda siguro may ganoon,” Barbers said during a post-trial press conference on Monday.
Barbers and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, also a spokesperson for the prosecution, were asked whether regulatory agencies needed reforms after the hearing’s examination of corporate records and Duterte’s financial disclosures.
Barbers said the reports were required so regulators could examine where company funds came from, how businesses earned revenue and what they spent.
“Hindi pwedeng tumakbo lang ang kumpanya na hindi natin pinapakita sa isang regulatory agency kung ano nangyayari sa kumpanya natin,” he said.
Alonto Adiong meanwhile questioned how the SEC could oversee companies when the required financial statements were unavailable. He said the agency needed information about their business activities and the sectors in which they operated.
“So paano magre-regulate ang SEC if they’re blinded with what kind of companies you are in?” Alonto Adiong asked.
He said financial statements could also provide information on company operations through expenses, including employee compensation. He described submission of the reports as a way for regulators to examine whether a company was conducting business.
Alonto Adiong also called for the SEC to take a more active role in addressing the business interests of officials covered by constitutional restrictions, including the vice president.
He referred to the SEC’s explanation during the proceedings about the absence of guidelines on reporting the business participation of those officials. He urged the agency to flag the issue when an official assumed office while retaining the interests under examination.
“Dapat maging proactive din being a regulatory board ng SEC na they don’t just wait until the person, the VP or President or Cabinet member to voluntarily divest,” Alonto Adiong said.
Barbers said stronger enforcement should secure compliance with the reports companies were required to submit. His proposal concerned penalties and monitoring; he did not announce a filed measure or an adopted SEC rule.
“Tama, dapat siguro higpitan nila na mabuti yung compliance na yan,” Barbers said.
Returning to the disclosure of company earnings, Barbers said regulatory agencies had a responsibility to obtain accurate reporting from the businesses they oversaw.
“Again, yan ay nasa lookout na yan ng regulatory agency kung paano nila i-cocompel itong mga kumpanyang ito to really truthfully declare their real income,” the former lawmaker stressed.
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