Emilio Aquino leaves SEC riding the digital wave
SEVEN-YEAR TERM SEC Chair Emilio Aquino leaves behind a legacy of digitalization. During his term, the commission launched four waves of digital initiatives, all meant to hasten its processes and encourage more companies to register. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines — The moment Emilio Aquino took his place on the highest seat at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was the moment the agency braced for a new era.
Years after a global financial crisis gripped major economies, Aquino saw an opportunity to become a leader in corporate sustainability. This began with the SEC.
Hailing all the way from Western Mindanao, the CPA-lawyer made digitalization among his first orders of business as the head of the corporate watchdog. It made sense, after all, that the SEC led by example.
When he was appointed SEC chair in 2018, Aquino rolled out his “SuperVision 2025.” It details how he would transform the Philippine business sector into one of the strongest in Southeast Asia.
READ: SEC chair Aquino: ‘Sustainability’ no longer mere buzzword
“At the heart of SuperVision is digitalization, which we see as a crucial component to improving the ease of doing business in the Philippines,” Aquino says in a recent statement.
The SEC began the first wave of its digital initiatives in 2021. Back then, the COVID-19 pandemic forced every sector to do things remotely and leave behind pen-and-paper processes.
This began with the rollout of digital tools meant to automate key services. These include company registration, submission of annual reports and transaction payments.
By 2023, the SEC had launched its second batch of digitalization projects under Aquino’s leadership. Two more waves of digital reforms followed in 2024 and 2025, Aquino’s last year in office.
But the shift was not popular among the public, at least in the beginning.
ROSE THROUGH THE RANKS Malacañang appointed Aquino the head of the country’s corporate registrar in 2018. Aquino also headed the SEC’s extension offices in Davao and Zamboanga.
“They [didn’t] want to embrace technology. They preferred the manual process because [digitalization] was complicated,” Aquino tells the Inquirer in a July 2024 interview. “But it worked out and gained traction.”
Aquino notes that these digital initiatives were the reason why the SEC was able to surpass the 50,000 mark in terms of new companies registered for the first time in 2024.
Companies’ compliance rate in submitting reportorial requirements improved to 70 percent last year from 26 percent in 2022. All thanks to the SEC’s Electronic Filing and Submission Tool, or eFAST, the commission says.
The SEC also credits the Philippines’ exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list to its digitalization projects. Especially so, since these had improved access to beneficial ownership data.
“The SEC would not have reached these milestones without our digital transformation,” Aquino says. “These tools did not only improve the services we provide, but have also strengthened our capacity to perform our mandate as the country’s corporate registrar and securities regulator.”
Capital market improvements
In its review of the Philippine capital market, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that long processes and loose enforcement of governance policies were preventing companies from tapping local equities.
As a response, the SEC under Aquino held several roadshows to introduce the capital market as a source of funding for micro, small and medium enterprises. This, among many other initiatives, allowed the SEC to hit its target of having 888 companies tap the capital market in time for its 88th anniversary in 2024.
Later, Aquino signed a memorandum launching the SEC Strategic Sandbox. This provided a “playground” for companies to test their financial products.
This project has since recruited two players, both offering access to US stocks.
OFF THE WATCH LIST During Aquino’s term, the Philippines finally exited the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey list.” The CPA-lawyer credits this to the SEC’s digitalization projects that have helped improve transparency among local firms.
Milestones
As he marked his last day in office after seven productive years on June 5, Aquino looks back on his leadership as an era when the SEC made doing business in the Philippines less of the tedious process it was previously known for.
“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,” he says. “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.”
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“These reforms were not just milestones. They were meaningful steps toward building a more inclusive, efficient and trustworthy capital market,” he adds. “I am hopeful that the Commission will continue pushing boundaries and embracing innovation to serve the Filipino people even better.”
Aquino passed on the reins of the country’s corporate registrar to newly appointed SEC chair and former Philippine Stock Exchange president Francis Lim. Lim himself is an advocate of strengthening the local capital market.
Lim has not made specific promises yet, but his vow gives a glimpse of his leadership. “I will put my heart and soul into this important responsibility, guided by the highest standards of integrity and service, for the good of our country,” Lim says.
