Yuchengco bet challenges opposition to go to court

The camp of RCBC Securities’ Alicia Arroyo challenged yesterday the opposition candidates led by AB Capital Securities’ Filomeno Francisco to instead take the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to court rather than issue a "white paper" contesting the election rules and SEC decisions.

The group’s spokesman, William Ang of Astra Securities, said in a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) stockholders that while the laws and regulations of the elections for the PSE board of directors are new, "we cannot allow for more of these allegations to circulate unchallenged."

"Actually, it would be interesting to know why they didn’t challenge the law when it was passed rather than now, when it is being obeyed by the PSE’s Board and Nomelec (Nominations and Elections Committee)," Ang said.

Ang said the PSE by-laws gave the Nomelec the responsibility of making the choice for all non-broker nominations. "It is absurd to claim that the stockholders who approved the by-laws gave Nomelec this responsibility without giving it the power and authority to do its job," he said.

But more important, he added, was that the opposing group "want the PSE to violate the law and to create a problem with the SEC."

He stressed the Nomelec’s intention to comply with the law and the SEC should not be covered up or distorted with the statement that shortlisting was "rammed through on the insistence of two members, with the concurrence of the Nomelec chairman."

Ang also defended the re-appointment of banker Peter Favila.