Firm gets control of SEC data base

An obscure company reportedly controlled by one of President Estrada’s mistresses now has exclusive control of a key division of the Securities and Exchange Commission which, SEC officials fear, might be used to serve the interests of businessmen close to Malacañang, the STAR has learned.

Strategic Alliance Deve-lopment Corp. (Stradec) not only has complete access to the computerized records of the SEC’s records division, it also has exclusive control of the division’s computer data base which contains information on all companies re-gistered with the SEC, according to an SEC source who requested anonymity.

Only Stradec personnel know the highly confidential password of the division’s computer data base, the source said, adding that even division officials cannot access the data base unless they ask Stradec personnel to type in the password for them.

Sometimes division personnel have to wait for Stradec people to arrive at the office – sometimes up to 4 p.m. – before they can access the database.

That’s not all, claims the source. SEC employees close to a commissioner "who has been buddy-buddy with Erap," have trickled into key positions of the agency’s records division and its other units.

"It’s really their intention to make SEC a pro-Estrada body so that they can do everything they want from money laundering to the manipulation of the stock market," the source said.

There is an imminent reorganization of the SEC in which at least 368 employees might lose their jobs.

But the perceived control of the records division by pro-Estrada people has fueled speculations that the reorganization is meant to replace people with pro-Estrada workers "who will just live up to the whims and caprices of the President," the source told the STAR.

In its memorandum of understanding with the SEC, Stradec will conduct a feasibility study on modernizing the SEC computer systems.

Stradec is licensed to engage in trading stock. But nothing in Stradec’s articles of incorporation allows it to engage in information technology projects, the SEC source said, who suspects that Stradec is masquerading as a computer company.

Further, since its job is merely to determine the SEC’s computer modernization needs, the source said Stradec "really has no need to have the all-powerful password to the data base."

"I thought they were just here to modernize our computer system, but they acted strangely when they asked for the password," the source said, adding that Stradec got the so-called "superuser" password from SEC Commissioner Joselia Poblador.

The "superuser" password is a highly confidential computer password that enables anybody to access every information known to the SEC, the source said. It must be known only to the SEC’s most trusted people, not to any outsider, to protect the files’ integrity, the source said.

A perusal, however, of Stradec’s memo of understanding with the SEC stated if the agency likes Stradec’s study, the SEC is bound to award the contract to the firm and exclude other bidders.

However, the source said Stradec has been acting as if the "contract has already been awarded to them."

"What if they lose the bidding for the contract to computerize SEC?" asked the source. "Will (the password) end up in the hands of Stradec which is basically an outsider?"

Stradec’s primary purpose, as stated in its SEC papers, includes trading of "stock bonds, debentures, notes," both local and foreign.

Its articles of incorporation amended in 1998, Stradec has since cornered juicy government contracts such as the computerization of the Land Transportation Office and of the Department of the Foreign Affairs.

"Their ability to bag juicy government contracts can be attributed to their closeness to one of Estrada’s mistresses," the source said, refusing to identify the mistress. "It’s an open secret here that it is, one way or another, close to Malacañang."

But if Stradec really has no Palace connections, the source said the company was exceptionally lucky to get all contracts in its four years of existence.

Commenting on Stradec’s control of the SEC records division files, the source said, "This development is scary since they have now control over any form of information, a power that can be used for illegal activities.

For one, records of inactive or "dead" companies can be used for money laundering since they have been "dormant for so many years, these records can easily be manipulated to make them appear legal or legitimate," the source said.

"It’s so easy to revive ‘dead’ companies whose records lie dormant in SEC’s computerized records system if you have access – especially complete access to it," the source said.

Money acquired illegally – through jueteng, for instance – can be plowed into "dead" companies, "bringing them back to life with their papers looking like taxes have been paid and income reported during their long time of inactivity," the source explained.

"That is why it’s hard to solve cases of ill-gotten wealth since money acquired illegally ended up in companies which look perfectly legal," the source said.

Stradec project manager Jhonnel Kabigting, who is overseeing the feasibility study, assured the STAR that his company will develop the SEC’s computer system "in the best way that we can" without jeopardize its interests.

Kabigting said the company has already been setting up the computer system of the SEC’s management information system.

He said the computerization of the records division of the SEC will make "access to information easier and faster" instead of having SEC staffers being "burdened with rummaging through hard copies of corporate documents."

Kabigting said the management information system is the SEC’s "central hub," in which the agency stores all the information it has on all of the country’s companies.

"We are just here to play a transitional role in this agency from where it is now, without computerization of the system, to where it is headed, with all people here trained to make access to information more efficient," he said.

"After we have trained all people here to use the system efficiently, we’ll move on to the next project," Kabigting said. "We don’t intend to stay here for a long time."