Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez lauded the market regulator for reaching out to areas outside Metro Manila to increase business activities after the Securities and Exchange Commission opened a new extension office in Tacloban.

He said the new office could push the city into becoming a “thriving hub of business activity” in the country.

“The establishment of this new office reaffirms our commitment to fostering an environment that promotes fair business practices and protects the interests of both investors and the public,” Romualdez said in a speech, delivered by lawyer Dennis Aran Abril during the inauguration of the SEC Tacloban EO.

“With this new office, we are equipping our city with the necessary tools to attract investment, encourage entrepreneurship, and promote economic growth,” Romualdez added.

Execs open office

The SEC, led by chairperson Emilio Aquino and commissioners Javey Paul Francisco, Kelvin Lester K. Lee, Karlo S. Bello and McJill Bryant T. Fernandez, formally inaugurated the SEC Tacloban EO on 11 May.

Located on the second floor of the National Economic and Development Authority Regional Office VIII building, Government Center in Barangay Baras, Palo, Leyte, the SEC Tacloban EO marks the Commission’s 10th extension office in the country, and fourth in Visayas.

The opening of the new EO has long been part of the expansion plans of the SEC, further accelerated by the request of Romualdez and the Regional Development Council of Region VIII.

The Region VIII RDC in 2021 issued Resolution 110, Series of 2021, formally requesting the SEC to establish an extension office in the region given the growing number of corporations in the area and their potential contribution to economic development.