House rushes approval of Securities Act

The House of Representatives is rushing the approval of the proposed Revised Securities Act, but Majority Leader Eduardo Gullas said this has nothing to do with the controversy rocking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

"Our desire to have this passed as soon as possible has nothing to do with the word war between President Estrada and SEC Chairman Perfecto Yasay," he said.

"When I resign after the bill is passed, I will be resigning not because I have been pressured but because the President is authorized to precisely reorganize the SEC," Yasay said.

The Securities Act will empower the President to reorganize the SEC and Yasay believes that its passing will pave the way for reforms in the business sector. And he said the enactment of the measure would be the right time for him to quit his post.

The rift between the President and Yasay worsened last week when the SEC chief told a Senate hearing that Mr. Estrada had pressured him to clear BW Resources and presidential friend Dante Tan for alleged manipulation of the stock market.

Yasay also said that people close to the President had urged him to resign since he began the probe on BW. He has ignored such calls since his tenure, which will expire in March 2004, is guaranteed under the law.

Yasay, however, said he would quit once the Securities Act is enacted. He stressed that he could no longer be effective in his job without the confidence of the President.

Yesterday, Yasay said his critics should stop demanding his resignation as their calls would only be perceived as a sign that they are pressuring him.

In an interview with Senate reporters, he said he would not be helping the President if he resigns now as the SEC's probe on BW is still ongoing.

And he said he has heard the President say on television that he would no longer ask the SEC chief to resign.

"The President has started on the right foot by saying that he is not asking for my resignation. He knows that I have a fixed term and that if I want to stay as chairman to finish my term, I can do so," he said.

In Congress, Gullas revealed that he expects the Securities Act to be approved within two to three weeks.

But opposition lawmakers expressed doubts on whether such a timetable can be followed.

Rep. Oscar Moreno, a minority congressman, said they still have a lot of questions to ask before allowing the passage of the bill. He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, Rep. Rodolfo Albano criticized Sen. Raul Roco for allowing Yasay to make "unsubstantiated and subsequently denied" allegations against the President in a Senate committee "hearing" last Jan. 19.

Albano, in a statement, said it was illegal for Roco to convene the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies for a hearing on the SEC controversy.

"It's absolutely illegal because there was no quorum. Only Roco was present and the hearing was not held in the Senate but at the board room of the Philippine Stock Exchange," he said.

The solon noted that under Senate rules, at least two members should be present for a committee hearing or meeting to be held.

"Roco showed bad faith when he called the hearing," he stressed.

Sen. Francisco Tatad described as "invalid" for lack of quorum that Senate hearing last Jan. 19.

"Given the gravity of the issues before the committee, I believe this lack of quorum is a fatal infirmity that affects the validity of the entire Jan. 19 proceedings and could very well affect the integrity of the committee, if not the chamber," Tatad said in a letter to Roco, who he said was the only legislator present to listen to Yasay.

Tatad said that any "innovation" on the quorum requirement must be authorized by a revision of the rules of the Senate. He added that he has received suggestions from some senators that the committee proceed "as though the hearing never took place."

In other developments, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dismissed allegations that the SEC controversy had adversely affected the country's economic progress.

She said recent developments in the stock market, particularly in the price of BW's stocks, showed that the row did not have any bearing in the local trading.

BW's stocks were listed at P9.60 a piece yesterday, up by P1.40 the previous day. The increase was attributed to the news that the Savoy Group of New Zealand has agreed to pump in P1.6 billion in fresh capital to raise its stake in the firm.

Savoy chief Jihong Lu explained that they wanted to take advantage of the weak price of BW's shares. "There is no better time to do it but now," he said.

He added that Savoy would be supporting Dante Tan who has stayed with BW despite the plunge in the company's share price.

Tan is being investigated by the SEC as well as the Philippine Stock Exchange for allegedly manipulating BW's stocks. From P2 a share, the stocks went up to a high of P107 shortly before Macau gambling mogul Stanley Ho visited the country last year.

BW's stocks were selling at P8.20 a share the other day.

Lu said they have decided to back Tan since "he did not sell at a high time." He noted that those who sold their BW shares when it peaked were other people and not the President's friend.

Influential El Shaddai leader Mariano "Brother Mike" Velarde, meanwhile, urged the President and Yasay to end their bickering which he said has made people suffer.

"The Filipino people are the ones suffering from their personal differences," he said.

Velarde, unlike Macapagal-Arroyo, believes that the strife between Mr. Estrada and Yasay would have dire effects on the business sector.

"I advice both of them to sit down and take this matter with sobriety," he said. "We cannot expect other people to help us."

Unknown to Velarde, the President and Yasay actually crossed paths last Tuesday during the wedding anniversary of Rep. Dante Liban. Though no words were exchanged between them, they acknowledged each other's presence. - With Efren Danao, Marichu Villanueva, Sandy Araneta, Edith Regalado