PHINMA Corp. has selected Isla Lipana & Co., also known as PwC Philippines, as its new independent auditor despite the latter's alleged involvement in a criminal complaint against MFT Group of Companies, owned by businesswoman Maria Francesca Tan.

The company announced Isla Lipana's appointment during its annual stockholders meeting in Makati City on Tuesday.

The decision was supported by the audit committee members of Phinma who have pushed for the company's regular audit evaluations.

In an interview with reporters, Phinma Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Ramon del Rosario explained that the decision to onboard Isla Lipana was a deliberate move taken by the company to uphold good corporate governance.

"We had a session with them (Isla Lipana) to make sure we understood the story and I think they have explained it adequately. The company being charged with is not being audited by them," del Rosario said.

"We have concluded that based on the explanations that we received, there was no basis for hesitating to proceed with the recommendation that we have already developed, which is to appoint Isla Lipana," he added.

Del Rosario also pointed out that it was the first time that the company changed its auditor as part of its "conscious desire to exercise good corporate governance."

"(Appointing) Isla Lipana is not something that we did very casually," he noted.

Isla Lipana was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of colluding with MFT Group's supposed illegal investment schemes.

The regulator claimed that Isla Lipana served as the independent auditor of both MFT Group and Foundry Ventures Inc. from 2018 to 2021.

However, Isla Lipana clarified that it was auditing MFT Group as a "standalone entity and we are not auditors of any other company within the group," contrary to the SEC's claim.

"Let it be clear that only Maria Francesca Tan Group of Companies Inc. (MFT Inc. for short) is our audit client. We would also like to point out that the MFT Inc. and Foundry Ventures are two separate entities," it said.

Nonetheless, Isla Lipana affirmed its commitment to cooperate entirely with the ongoing investigation, which has been elevated to the Department of Justice (DOJ).