Martinez no stranger to controversy

MANILA, Philippines - Securities and Exchange Commissioner (SEC) Jesus Enrique Martinez, one of the government officials implicated in the Legacy Group scandal, is no stranger to controversy.

In May 2008, during the contentious annual stockholders’ meeting of giant power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), Martinez single-handedly signed an SEC-issued show-cause order that favored a major shareholder.

The state-owned Government Service Insurance

System (GSIS) and the Lopez family and their allies were in a well-publicized battle for control of the power company.

Martinez’s show cause order essentially gave GSIS – which then did not have enough proxy votes to clinch more Meralco board seats than the Lopezes – the chance to elevate the corporate battle to a legal war.

GSIS eventually sold its Meralco shares to San Miguel Corp.

In 2005, the Office of the President almost suspended Martinez for one year for failing to pay Cornelis W. Lubberts, his former Baguio-based friend and business partner, a debt of P600,000.

He claimed then that the suspension was harassment and was not served.

Last few days

Martinez could be serving the last few days of his term this week.

Martinez was appointed commissioner in the 5-man board of the SEC on March 14, 2002 for a seven-year term that will end March 12.

In a Senate hearing yesterday, two former executives of the embattled Legacy Group testified that the financial services firm’s founder, businessman-turned-politician Celso de los Angeles, has close ties with Martinez.

Martinez currently heads the SEC board’s oversight committee in charge of the Non-Traditional Department (NTD), which supervises pre-need companies, including those that belonged to the Legacy Group.

A former Legacy Group executive said De los Angeles met with Martinez in late 2007, when the NTD did not issue dealer’s license to the Legacy-linked pre-need companies because their trust funds were deficient.

The executive also said Martinez’s son acquired a car and house funded by Legacy rural banks.

Reports claimed De los Angeles stood as wedding sponsor to one of Martinez’s children but this was vehemently denied by the SEC official.

“Mr. De los Angeles was not and is not the godfather of any of my children and neither has he ever been invited to any of my family’s affairs, events or celebrations. More so, I have never had any personal relationship whatsoever with Mr. De los Angeles,” Martinez said.

Martinez also stressed that no commissioner has the power to interfere, hinder or delay action pursued against a violator of SEC rules and regulations.

SEC to hear Martinez’s side

Meanwhile, the commission en banc, the SEC’s highest decision-making body, will meet tomorrow to give Commissioner Martinez a chance to air his side with respect to allegations hurled against him by a former official of the Legacy Group.

“All of those accusations were very new to me. We at the commission will give him a chance to be heard in addition to what we heard this morning. If we could get a quorum tomorrow then we would hold a meeting and discuss it,” said SEC chairman Fe Barin.

Barin said it’s up to Martinez whether or not he would resign before his seven-year term expires Thursday.

When asked whether Martinez has expressed willingness to resign, Barin said: “Nothing during the hearing.”

“Since he is a presidential appointee, Martinez, should he decide to resign, would submit his resignation letter to the Office of the President and not to me,” Barin said.

Barin also said that should Martinez decide to stay until the expiration of his term, he cannot vacate his position unless a successor has been appointed.

SEC employees expressed disgust upon hearing the testimony of the Legacy Group official linking Martinez to the scandal.  

As a corporate law practitioner and law professor, Martinez is an expert in mergers and acquisitions, joint venture negotiations and investments. He discussed issues related to these in his column in the Business Mirror.

He used to be a politician, holding positions as provincial board member, city vice-mayor, special counsel to the chairman of the Philippine Coconut Authority and special assistant to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, according to his SEC profile.

He studied in Ateneo de Manila High School where he was a batchmate of Social Service System(SSS) president Romulo Neri and Supreme Court Associate Justice Renato Corona.

He is also an officer and senior member of the Jesus Is Lord-led party list group, Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption(CIBAC).

As a commissioner, Martinez reportedly earns P2.4 million a year.