Head of PSE's market integrity board quits

The head of an independent committee mandated to keep a tight watch on listed companies and trading participants at the Philippine Stock Exchange has resigned. In a disclosure, the PSE said Dr. Conchita L. Manabat, chairman of its Market Integrity Board, has submitted her resignation letter on Tuesday. The resignation will be effective by the end of the month. The PSE said Manabat cited her "desire to limit multiple roles in several institutions as reason for her resignation". Manabat sits as a member of the Consultative Advisory Group of the Ethics Standard Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and also of the Consultative Advisory Group of the International auditing and Assurance Standards Board of IFAC. Francis Ed Lim, PSE president and chief executive officer, said he had wanted to keep Manabat on the PSE team. "I would have wanted to keep Dr. Chit Manabat as Chair of PSE's Market Integrity Board but I cannot impose on her out of respect for her personal decision. Surely, she performed admirably well as MIB Chair and we will miss her invaluable services. We hope we can find someone of her calibre and integrity to fill the slot she vacated," he said. Manabat's resignation came after it was reported that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her family cited stock investments as the reason for the increase in their wealth. A son-in-law of Mrs. Arroyo, Luigi Bernas, sits as an independent director of the PSE. According to the 2008 Annual Report of the PSE, the MIB is the Exchange's independent body exercising control and supervision over the (PSE's) Market Regulation Division. Only persons with proven integrity, honesty, and the relevant competence may be members of the MIB. The MIB steadfastly enforces the relevant rules and regulations which the Exchange qua self-regulatory organization has adopted to maintain the market’s integrity and minimize risks of the investing public. Besides enforcing the Exchange’s rules, the MIB initiates policy and structural changes to better protect the investing public and the market. The MIB complements efforts of the Exchange's Board of Directors and the Securities and Exchange Commission on these matters. - GMANews.TV