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SEC orders Ongpin’s ouster from public firms, P174-M fine for insider trading


The Securities and Exchange Commission has disqualified businessman Roberto Ongpin from serving as an officer or board member in any public company or publicly listed company after he allegedly engaged in insider trading in the sale of Philex mining shares in 2009.

In an en banc decision handed down on July 8, the SEC further ordered Ongpin to pay P174 million in fines and to resign from any public company or publicly listed company where he is an officer or a member of the board of directors.

The SEC said that the imposition of the penalties was"without prejudice to further investigation and the imposition of additional penalties, for any additional purchases of the above-mentioned unaccounted 17,982,250 Philex shares" on December 2, 2009.

The decision modified the order issued by the SEC's Enforcement and Investor Protection Department that also found appellant Ongpin liable for insider trading but meted a fine of only P17.4 million.

"Having just concluded a deal the previous day with Manuel V. Pangilinan who expressed willingness to buy 550 million shares from him at P21 per share, in the morning of December 2, 2009, the appellant admitted that he purchased, through Golden Media Corp., an additinal 45,964,500 PHILEX from the open market at the market price of P19.25 to P19.50 pershare," the facts of the case read.

The purchase,  according to the Philippine Stock Exchange, involved 174 separate transactions.

"Thereafter, in the evening of December 2, 2009, appellant, his RVO Companies, DBP and CEO and director of PHILEX Walter Brown, sold to First Pacific's subsidiary, Two Rivers Pacific Holdings Corp, a total of 452,088,160 PHILEX shares representing a 9.24-percent stake in the corporation," the decision said.

The SEC said Ongpin "gained possession of material information when such information came into existence, that was, when Manuel V. Pangilinan and appellant entered into negotiations with respect to the possible purchadse by First Pacific (Asia Link) of appellant's 550,000,000 Philex shares in Philex." —NB, GMA News

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