SEC streamlines documentary requirements

MANILA, Philippines - Business registration for financing and lending companies has just been made easier by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in line with the Duterte administration’s anti-red tape thrust.

“This would speed up the processing for the issuance of the certificates since there would be lesser documents for inspection and evaluation,” SEC chair Teresita Herbosa said.

From 23 documents, those registering to operate need now only to submit 15 to the SEC’s registration and monitoring department’s (CRMD).

This was after the agency consolidated requirements and dropped ones deemed redundant.

Dropped documents were local police clearance; certificate of good moral character for Filipino directors and officers; work permit from the Department of Labor and Employment for foreign directors and officers and location map and copy of the lease contract or title of the building where the company is located.

For financing companies applying to operate a branch office, requirements had been reduced to eight from 13 previously.

As part of the streamlining of processes, CRMD has also modified its application form, company’s information and personal information sheets and made them easier to be filled out.

Monitoring of existing players were also made easier through less requirements needed to be submitted to the agency’s corporate governance and finance department (CGFD).

The department will no longer require the submission of the following documents: SEC form Q-EPS or quarterly report; certification of corporate secretary on the attendance of directors on board meetings if covered by the Code of Corporate Governance and the Corporate Governance Scorecard.

Moving forward, Herbosa said SEC would continue to improve its services by eliminating excessive or inflexible administrative procedures and protracted decision-making processes that slow down public service.

SEC is placed under the supervision of the Department of Finance (DOF), which formed an anti-red tape team led by Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran.

The team, which looks into frontline services of the DOF and its attached agencies, was in response to President Duterte’s call to make business dealings in the government easier.

Aside from SEC, the Bureaus of Internal Revenue and Customs had also announced various measures that trimmed down requirements and streamlined procedures for tax and import purposes.