PSE vows to pick prexy before SEC deadline

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has assured the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would be able to elect a new president by Wednesday, Nov. 28, a day before the SEC deadline.

SEC chairman Lilia Bautista said the PSE’s board of directors led by chairman Felipe Yap had indicated that they would be able to choose a new president in lieu of Ramon Garcia, although no specific name was offered as prime candidates.

The SEC has given the PSE until Nov. 29 to elect a new president or else the corporate regulator will be forced to appoint one in an acting capacity.

In a letter to Yap late last month, Bautista said that should the PSE board still fail to elect one within the given period, "then the SEC shall be constrained to appoint an acting president who shall serve as such until the board shall be able to elect a permanent one."

Garcia was ousted as PSE president last Sept. 26 by a majority vote of the board of directors due to the controversy spawned by the proposed PSE relocation agreement with Fort Bonifacio Development Corp.

However, two weeks later, on Oct. 10, the same board patched things up with Garcia and voted to reinstate him, although as a compromise, he filed for a terminal leave of absence until his term expires in March 2002.

Bautista said several names have been floated as possible candidates for the post but at this stage, only two have emerged as strong candidates. She, however, declined to give any hint as to who the leading candidates are until the PSE elects one.

The newly-appointed president will serve out the unexpired term of Garcia until March or when the PSE members convene for their annual stockholders meeting. In the same meeting, the PSE said there was a commitment to re-elect the president for a full one-year term.

Since Garcia left his post, the PSE has been having a hard time selecting a replacement as several preferred candidates have turned down the offer for various reasons.

Two former PSE governors – Vicente Jayme and Margarito Teves – were initially offered the job but both declined. Jayme, a former finance secretary and Teves, a former congressman and now Land Bank president, sat at the PSE board of governors as private sector representative until March this year.

Other names being floated as ideal choices include two incumbent PSE directors, former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga and Ismael Cruz of IGC Securities; former SEC Associate Commissioner Monico Jacob; former Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo; former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Winnie Monsod; bankers Octavio Espiritu; former Finance Secretary Jesus Estanislao; and former Social Security System president Renato Valenzia. – Conrado Diaz Jr.