PSE widens securities probe

THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange is investigating whether certain stockbrokers were involved in the alleged investment scam perpetrated by its former employee, Jose Cecilio Peñaflor.

Part of the investigation is to find out whether individuals, particularly agents and salesmen, tagged in the complaints might have used their position to help Peñaflor perpetrate the investment scam and to determine if the stockbrokerage firms they represented were aware of their actions, the PSE said in a statement Monday.

“We want to find out if our rules and regulations were violated not just by individuals but stockbrokerage firms as well. If our investigation shows that rules were breached, we will mete out the applicable sanctions,” said PSE president Hans Sicat.

“We are getting a better picture of what may have transpired given the accounts and reports of complainants. We encourage other victims to also come out because the sooner they report their case, the better for everyone concerned,” Sicat added.

The conventional theory is that Peñaflor may not have been able to defraud investors if he did not have any trading or marketing arrangements with certain brokerage houses.

Penaflor, who previously headed the PSE’s market education department, was no longer connected with the PSE since 2013. But the local bourse had to issue a public notice late last year that this person was no longer connected with the PSE.

Recently, Peñaflor was nabbed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following an entrapment operation launched by NBI agents. However, he was released after a few days. The ex-PSE official has likewise been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Authorities are coordinating with the NBI to probe allegations of estafa and unauthorized sale of securities.

Doris Dumlao-Abadilla