Aquino named new SEC chair

CPA-lawyer Emilio Benito Aquino took his oath as the new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief yesterday, taking the helm of the country’s corporate watchdog for the next seven years.

Aquino—who hails from Mindanao and had risen from the ranks at the SEC—succeeded lawyer Teresita Herbosa, whose term ended in March. His term will be until March 11, 2025.

For over a decade, Aquino was a practicing CPA-lawyer based in Western Mindanao. He taught commercial law subjects at the law schools of Ateneo del Zamboanga and Western Mindanao State University.

Aquino has served the SEC en banc since end-2016 when he was appointed by President Duterte as commissioner. This marked his return to the SEC where he rose from the ranks to become the youngest director of its former prosecution and enforcement (PED) and nontraditional securities and instruments (NTD) departments.

He is credited for having issued the most number of Cease and Desist Orders (CDO) against pyramiding and boiler-room operations of pseudo-investment firms. He also headed the SEC Davao and Zamboanga Extension Offices where he launched capital market promotion activities as well as a relentless enforcement program against investment scams in the countryside.

Aquino had been designated as the supervising commissioner on enforcement, human resource and administration as well as extension offices concerns, thereby championing investor protection.

“He led the recent sweep against illegal lenders and is now the SEC’s point man on cybercrimes and cryptocurrencies,” the SEC said in its website.

Aqunio earned a BS degree in commerce major in accounting, magna cum laude and valedictorian from the Universidad de Zamboanga in 1984. He hurdled the CPA Licensure Exams with a rating of 89.14 percent.

He finished his law studies at San Beda College where he was a dean’s lister and silver medalist.