Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson and CEO Emilio B. Aquino was the recipient of the highest honor in the 2024 The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Awards, in recognition of his contributions to the corporate sector and the development of the capital market.

In a ceremony held at the House of Representatives on 5 December, Mr. Aquino received the TOFIL Award for Government and Public Service, leading six other awardees in their respective fields.

Other TOFIL Award recipients included Carl E. Balita for Education; Seagull Philippines chairman Bing N. Carrion for Peace Advocacy; Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz for Government Service; Commission on Higher Education chairman Prospero E. de Vera III for Higher Education; neurosurgeon Lynne Lucena for Medicine; and former Dean of the University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Forestry and Natural Resources Juan M. Pulhin for Geographical Sciences and Social Forestry.

Since 1988, the Junior Chamber International Senate Philippines has conferred the TOFIL Awards to “institutionalize public recognition” of Filipinos aged 41 years old and above for their exemplary contribution to advancing public welfare and national development.

Golden age solidified

“I am proud to say that SEC Philippines has solidified its golden age and has excellently carried out its rallying mantra: that it’s easy at SEC,” Mr. Aquino said in his speech during the awarding ceremony.

“We modernized and digitalized the SEC, and restructured our organization with the creation of several innovative offices to meet rising customer and market demands, so that SEC Philippines is now feted to be among the world’s best employers by London-based Investors in People; among the world’s best in sustainability reporting, recognized the most number of times — thrice — by the (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development] in Geneva, Switzerland), (and) among the world’s best in digital company registration by (Corporate Registers Forum) in Malta,” he added.

As chairperson, Mr. Aquino crafted the SuperVision 2025 at the start of his term to serve as the Commission’s guide in its goal of transforming the country’s corporate sector and capital market to be among the best in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Aquino accelerated the Commission’s digital transformation as a tool to achieve his vision, especially during the pandemic to ensure uninterrupted services for its stakeholders.

Digital innovations

This led to the launch of three waves of digital innovations starting in 2021 to enable online company registration, reports filing, and payment transactions, among others.

The improved registration process has since allowed the SEC to reach record highs in terms of company registrations, with 49,501 new companies registered in 2023.

SEC’s digitalization efforts, along with the establishment of new extension offices in Bacolod, Tacloban, Butuan and Koronadal, have brought the Commission’s services closer to Filipinos locally and abroad.

The SEC has also been at the forefront of making the capital market more accessible to enable growth and expansion.

Under Aquino’s leadership, the SEC established the Philifintech Innovation Office, which seeks to foster innovation and customize the fintech landscape in the Philippines by keeping track of the fast-evolving financial products and services available in the market.

Through the newly established Strategic Partnership and Advocacy Division, the SEC also continues to invite more partners into the SEC Capital Market Promotion and Awareness Inter-Agency Network to promote the capital market with the conduct of webinars, roadshows, and dissemination of information through social media.

The SEC has further launched the Anti-Scam and Illegal Taking of Investments Group, composed of local government units that seeks to empower barangay officials to protect their constituents from investment scams through reporting mechanisms and awareness programs.