00:00Several government agencies inked an agreement eyeing to increase transparency in several natural resources sectors.
00:06Our Denise Osorio has details.
00:09The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, together with the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative of the Department of Finance, or PHEITI,
00:19has signed a new data-sharing agreement to bolster transparency in the country's mining, oil, and gas sectors.
00:26This document that we signed today is one where we will be able to determine who is the ultimate and beneficial owner of the resource development company.
00:42Sometimes, not all, but some, what they do is at the operating company level, they report sometimes losses or sometimes break-even.
00:53The deal grants on-site, online, and off-site access to SEC records, making it easier to verify who truly stands behind extractive companies.
01:03While the data becomes more open, private information remains protected, with waivers still required in line with the Data Privacy Act.
01:11Undersecretary Agabin points out how this is about accountability as much as it is about disclosure.
01:16Now, assuming something happens in the course of operating in mine, the ordinary citizen will be able to pinpoint who is the ultimate owner
01:32and who may bear some legal, if not moral, or social responsibility towards addressing the incidents that may occur in the course of operation.
01:44The policy forms part of the Philippines' commitment to the global EITI standard, ensuring greater clarity over payments, contracts, and ownership in the extractive industries.
01:56At the corporate level, SEC officials explain that new beneficial ownership rules help unmask the real players in business, creating a safeguard against money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption.
02:07Ang beneficial owner ay nagtuturo ko sino ba yung tunay na may-ari ng isang korporasyon.
02:14Kapag sinabi niyo pong tunay na may-ari, ibig sabihin niyan sino yung merong control sa isang kumpanya, o di kaya may significant na pagmamay-ari sa kanyang mga shareholdings.
02:23Makalino adds the policy is meant to stop the concealment of ill-gotten wealth and help create a culture of transparency in Philippine business.
02:33Meanwhile, the SEC is pressing ahead with its digital overhaul, from online registration to swifter access to company information.
02:40That modernization has already unmasked sham incorporators used in dubious enterprises such as Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOS.
02:49We noticed there that yung mga incorporators doon, wala namang capacity to put up those millions of capital.
02:58Nadiskubri ng SEC po yun, wherein yung mga tindera doon sa palengke became the incorporators.
03:05Already, around 70% of companies have declared their beneficial owners.
03:09Those who fail to comply or submit false names face penalties of up to 4 million pesos,
03:15possible suspension of directors, or even the dissolution of the company itself.
03:21Kapag ikaw ay maniniwala na merong mahuhuli at hindi magagamit ang mga korporasyon sa mga maling bagay,
03:28eh mas magtitiwala ang mga tao at ang mga investor na mabuti ang kanilang hangarin na magnegosyo dito sa Pilipinas.
03:37It may have taken five years to hammer out, but the policy is timely,
03:41arriving just as calls grow louder in support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s fight against corruption.
03:48Denise Osorio for the National Television Network for a new and better Philippines.
