It doesn’t look the the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the merger between the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx)—the operators of the country’s stock and bond exchanges, respectively—anytime soon, despite the merger having been encouraged by regulators from the outset.
In fact, the SEC wrote the Inquirer a few days ago saying that this Biz Buzz writer had written an “unbalanced, false and misleading” news article last week where it was “insinuated” that SEC commissioners “were remiss in their duty” to approve the merger (it having been on the table for about a year already, of course).
The Biz Buzz item in question, they said, “went beyond the limitations provided by law, international covenants and the journalist code.”
“Mr. Lucas was guilty of unbalanced reporting for not consulting any SEC officer regarding the matter,” the letter said. “The biased report had the effect of suppressing facts and distorting the truth, misleading and giving the impression to the public that the SEC was remiss in its duties and the Philippine economy will suffer greatly if the merger does not push through.”
“Had the author conferred with the SEC, he would have known that the SEC has continued to evaluate and process the proposed merger of PSE and PDEx,” it added. “More importantly, Mr. Lucas would have found out that it is the inadequacy of PSE’s replies and submissions to SEC which caused and is causing the delay in their request for exemptive relief.”
“The author likewise failed to take into account the complexity and novelty of the present case. The newly passed Philippine Competition Law should be considered in evaluating the PSE-PDEx merger. The merger application should be scrutinized bearing in mind the State policy against monopoly and anti-competitive behavior.”
SEC also doubted PSE’s technical capabilities given a number of trading glitches that happened in recent months.
“Considering, too, that there were at least three trading halts in the PSE last August, PSE’s technological capability is put in question,” the letter said. “Moreover, despite SEC demands, the merger plans submitted by PSE did not provide for firm commitments as to its business continuity and infrastructure stability plans.”
“It must be borne in mind that PSE’s application is contrary to the mandated limit set by the Securities Regulation Code for the industry ownership of an exchange. Thus, being in the nature of an exemption, PSE has the burden of proof to show that the market will benefit from the merger. Regrettably, PSE has not overcome this burden so as to merit the issuance of the exemptive relief requested for.”
Toward the end of the letter, SEC said that the Biz Buzz article was potentially a violation of anti-corruption laws.
“Please note that this action of Mr. Lucas may be considered as a corrupt practice punished by the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (which) prohibits private individuals to knowingly induce or cause public officials, charged with the grant of licenses or permits or other concessions, to give any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence,” the letter said.
Most importantly, the SEC also wrote PSE president Hans Sicat and Bankers Association of the Philippines president Lorenzo Tan ordering both gentlemen to explain—within 24 hours—how details of the requested exemptive relief came out on Biz Buzz. Daxim L. Lucas
Millennial writer
SAN Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang a.k.a. RSA has an adult son (Paul) now handling the cement business and a daughter (Cecille) who’s into the hotel and retailing business.
But not too many people know that RSA has a millennial son who’s a talented writer. This son has also chosen to make his mark in the print and publishing business.
In college, Raymond Ang was editor-in-chief of “The Guidon,” Ateneo’s official student publication. By his senior year in college, he was already working for several publications. After college, he joined Rogue magazine (and became associate editor after a year), among other gigs. In 2013, he became editor of Benchmark magazine, the lifestyle magazine arm of retailer Bench. This year, he has an editorial imprint under Summit Books called Made of Bricks and his group recently published photographer BJ Pascual’s book as the first project.
One of Raymond’s memorable writing accomplishments was an article that he had written for Rogue in 2013 about behind-the-scenes narratives of the filming in the Philippines of “Apocalypse Now”, deemed the magnum opus of Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola.
The article, “Gods and Monsters” (11/8/2013)—written in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of this epic war film—was bought by Rolling Stone Italia and was included in the latter’s list of greatest stories in the last 10 years.
In his article, Raymond drew fresh insights by talking to people who were directly involved in the project. “In his little colony in the Philippines in that short pocket of time along 1976 and 1977, Francis Ford Coppola took risks. He took lives, he took nature into his own hands, all for the sake of a film. What he gave in return was a classic—a stone cold standard of modern moviemaking,” Raymond wrote.
Now, 27-year-old Raymond is set to make his TV debut on ANC tomorrow at 9:30 am to guest on the new talk show “Shake,” broadcaster Nancy Irlanda’s independent and curated television special. Raymond will join Preview’s Pauline Juan and Esquire’s Erwin Romulo to discuss with Nancy the print media in a world that has gone digital. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
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