SEC asked to explain P.5-M salary for a liquidator

A ranking member of the House of Representatives has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose its dealings with companies placed under receivership by the regulatory body following published reports that a liquidator is receives P500,000 monthly income from the government agency.

Rep. Jesus Jurdin Romualdo (Camiguin), nominee for the 12-man House panel for the Commission on Appointments, said he was surprised upon learning that a liquidator can earn up to half a million pesos a month.

"If this is true, ang sarap naman palang maging liquidator. Ano bang ginagawa ng mga ito para kumita ng ganito kalaking halaga? (How nice it is to be a liquidator. What are they doing to deserve such a huge salary?)," the solon asked.

The SEC had stipulated that the maximum salary of its appointed liquidator should be no more than P50,000 a month.

The Camiguin solon said paying a liquidator half a million pesos a month is way beyond the salary cap imposed by SEC itself and in conflict with the government’s effort to reduce spending and raise productivity.

"I wanted to know who really pays for the salary of a liquidator, is it the SEC which is a branch of the government or private companies. Kung private companies ang nagpapasahod sa kanila at appointed sila ng government, wala kayang nangyayaring conflict of interest while they perform their duties," Romualdo asked.

Romualdo was reacting to a newspaper column published recently, which revealed that SEC was reportedly paying one of its liquidators P500,000 monthly to supervise the receivership of two major companies. "I hope SEC officials can whisper to me who is this Chosen One," referring to the report the described the liquidator, said to be close to former SEC chairman Lilia Bautista.

He challenged newly installed SEC chief Fe Barin to disclose the identity of the "lucky" liquidator and explain why he was excluded from the maximum P50,000 salary cap.

One of the companies the liquidator is supervising, the report said, has been sued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue for back taxes, while a city council is suing it also for almost a billion in back taxes.

But the SEC has reportedly stepped in and stopped the collection of taxes as it was selling the company to a South Asian group.

The liquidator, a graduate of the UP-Diliman, allegedly turned in his Nissan sedan for a Mercedes Benz. He reportedly compelled a Chinese stockbroker to furnish his private office before he retired from SEC.

According to Romualdo, the alleged SEC move contradicts the belt-tightening plea of Malacañang to government agencies, including Congress, to buckle down to work and make personal sacrifices for the sake of national interest.