Manny Villar amid SEC allegations: I have never engaged in illegal practices

Business tycoon Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. on Tuesday issued a statement emphasizing that Villar Land Holdings Corp. will fully cooperate with authorities, breaking his silence amid the market manipulation and insider trading complaint slapped against his beleaguered company.

The Villar patriarch, a former Senate President, said that Villar Land Holdings has yet to receive a copy of the complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

On Saturday, the SEC accused Villar Land Holdings of “making false or misleading statements and engaging in acts that operated as fraud or deceit upon investors.”

The corporate regulator said the charges resulted from its investigation into the company’s public disclosures and trading activities, which it alleged had “misled investors and distorted the market price of the company’s shares, particularly its public disclosure in 2024 that its total assets had ballooned to P1.33 trillion before the completion of its external audit.

The SEC said that when the audited financial statements were later submitted, Villar Land reported total assets of only P35.7 billion, “significantly lower than the amounts earlier disclosed.”

Villar, in his statement, said that his knowledge about the SEC’s filing “is limited to what has been reported by various media outlets.”

“I understand that  DOJ will now have to evaluate the complaint and determine if a preliminary investigation will be warranted,” he said.

The Department of Justice on Monday said the SEC’s complaint is still undergoing evaluation to determine whether it is ready for preliminary investigation. 

Villar, nonetheless, said that “first, our company has consistently upheld the highest standards of good corporate governance.”

“All our businesses and officers understand that corporate good governance is essential for building trust among investors and fostering sustainable growth. In fact, we welcomed and fully cooperated when the SEC began its fact-finding investigation,” the businessman said.

“Second, may I repeat again that we are unequivocally committed to transparency and compliance with existing rules and regulations being enforced by both the SEC and the Philippine Stock Exchange. We have consistently disclosed material developments and continue to coordinate with regulatory bodies regarding the status of our financials,” he added.

Further, Villar said that in all his years as an entrepreneur, recalling the time he was helping his mother sell shrimps and fish in Divisoria to leading one of the most successful businesses in the country, “I have never engaged in illegal practices designed to defraud customers and investors, or unduly benefit myself or the companies I own.”

“I assure the public that Villar Land will respond to all these allegations in the proper forum, and that we will fully cooperate with an impartial investigation that fosters due process, protects the public’s welfare, and ferrets out the truth,” Villar said.

“And, finally, I am confident that justice will prevail and my family and our companies will be exonerated of all these baseless charges,” he added. –NB, GMA Integrated News