THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it would beef up its enforcement through collaboration with international organizations in a move to protect the public from securities fraud and other forms of investment scams.
“Scammers are becoming more advanced and sophisticated in their techniques as new technologies arise. As such, the SEC must constantly improve its investigation and enforcement capabilities to ensure that we are always one step ahead in preventing scams,” SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino said.
The SEC, in partnership with the SEC in the United States and the Asian Development Bank, hosted several workshops and training last month.
The workshops aimed to strengthen the capability of the SEC Philippines’s enforcement personnel in conducting investigations on securities-related crimes such as insider trading, market manipulation, off-market fraud and crypto scams.
The SEC expressed gratitude to their US counterpart, the ADB and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco) “for sharing their experiences and learnings with us and other law enforcement agencies in the Philippines.”
According to Aquino, these “will surely guide us as we pursue more programs and activities toward the protection of the investing public.”
The investigation and enforcement training workshops were held jointly with the aforementioned institutions.
Paul Gumagay, associate director for operations and technical assistance in the US SEC Office of International Affairs (OIA); Tom Swiers, branch chief in the OIA; and, Glenn Gordon, associate regional director of the US SEC Miami Regional Office, shared their experiences and techniques in apprehending investment scammers and filing court cases against scammers.
Established in 1983, the Iosco is recognized as the global standard setter for the securities sector, as it allows for international securities regulators to cooperate on capital market development and stability.
On August 18, the SEC Philippines, US SEC and the ADB entered into a Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU).
The MMoU is a multilateral instrument established in 2002 that provides for cross- border cooperation among its signatories, particularly on information exchange, for the purpose of regulatory enforcement regarding the securities market.
