MEET THE SEC MANAGEMENT

 

FE B. BARIN
Chairman

Ms. Fe B. Barin, whose appointment was issued by the Philippine President on August 18, 2004, assumed the Office of the SEC Chairperson on September 01, 2004.

Ms. Barin’s distinguished career in government service started with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (formerly the Central Bank of the Philippines) where she held various positions and culminated in her appointment as a Member of the Monetary Board in October 2002.

Prior to her Presidential appointment as Monetary Board  Member, she was also appointed by the President as the first Chairperson of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), a newly-created quasi-judicial body mandated to regulate the electric power industry. She served in that capacity from August 2001 to September 2002.

Ms. Barin acquired the broad experience she has in the regulation of the financial sector from the various prestigious positions she held and the different training grants she received.

Among the other important positions she held are the following:

  • Member of Central Bank Board of Liquidators – BSP, 2002-2004

  • Consultant – BSP, 2000-2001

  • Secretary to the Monetary Board and Special Assistant to the Governor – BSP, 1974-2000

  • Assistant Legal Counsel – PDIC (Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation), 1969-1973

Some of the trainings and seminars that were awarded to her are:

  • Seminar/Workshop on Corporate Restructuring: International Best Practices, World Bank, Washington, D.C.

  • US Monetary Policy Implementation Course, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York USA

  • Assessing Banking Fragility, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C.

  • Nomura Securities Seminar on Japanese Capital Market, Tokyo, Japan

  • Workshop on Restructuring Banking Institutions: Techniques for Managing Successful Turnarounds, Washington, D.C.

  • Investment Negotiations Course, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.

Chairperson Barin envisions making the SEC an office that is respected as a reasonable regulator. For this purpose, she will build on the foundation left by her predecessors since she is confident that the SEC has always been guided by the declaration of policies in the various legislations it is implementing, such the Securities Regulation Code and the Corporation Code, among other laws.

While she recognizes that business needs to make money and that business needs investors, she shares the view that business has to have social conscience. Hence, business should not undermine the interest of the public in general, and the investors in particular. Accordingly, Ms. Barin is fully cognizant of the need to balance the objectives of developing the capital markets, promoting free enterprise, and protecting the public interest.

Ms. Barin is a member of the Philippine bar. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines, the premier state-owned university, Ms. Barin holds the rare distinction of acquiring her formal education from the public school system.

She is a member of various professional societies such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, WILOCI, WLAP, and ASEAN Law Association.

 

 

Ma. JUANITA ELEGIR-CUETO

Commissioner

Ms. Ma. Juanita Elegir-Cueto was appointed on June 5, 2001

Ms. Cueto, a member of the Philippine Bar, graduated with the Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila College of Law. She was Associate Editor of the Ateneo Law Journal. Earlier, she graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of the Philippines.

She brings to the Commission a stockbroker's background, having been the Chairperson and President of the Yaptinchay Securities Corporation since the year 2000, until her assumption of office. She was also its General Manager, Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel for eight years.

She was a member of the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc., and its Committees for Settlement, Demutualization, and the Legislative. She was also a Director and Corporate Secretary of the Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines.

Her previous professional experience includes a stint as associate lawyer of the Barcelona, Perlas, Joven and Academia Law Office; Legal Officer III at the Legal Service Office of the Department of Trade and Industry; Legal Staff Officer IV of Representative Vicente Rivera, Jr.; and, Legislative Staff Chief of Representative Edward M. Matti.

 

 

JESUS E. G. MARTINEZ
 Commissioner

Commissioner Martinez, appointed to a seven year term on March 14, 2002, is a member of the Philippine Bar with over a decade of corporate practice. A distinguished graduate of the Silliman University College of Law, Commissioner Martinez also taught Constitutional, Political, Commercial and Remedial Law subjects at the same university. He has held various positions in government - Provincial Board Member, City Vice-Mayor, Special Counsel to the Chairman of the Philippine Coconut Authority and Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Governments. Corporate law practice honed his skills in mergers and acquisitions, joint venture negotiations and investments. Till his appointment to the SEC, Commissioner Martinez directly participated, organized and/or advised in the formation of over forty local and foreign corporations. As International Associate Member of the American Bar Association, he has established contacts with a global network of corporate practitioners and business groups including certain advocacies such as the Christian Legal Societies and the International Justice Mission. As an officer and senior member of the Citizens' Battle Against Corruption, Commissioner Martinez was at the forefront of several anti-corruption initiatives which have resulted in some legislative measures pending passage by Congress.

 

 

RAUL J. PALABRICA
 Commissioner

Commissioner Raul J. Palabrica assumed his office on April 18, 2005.

He graduated from the University of the Philippines with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. In college, he was the editor in chief of his law class yearbook and managing editor of the Philippine Collegian, the university school organ.

Upon passing the bar examinations, he joined the law offices of Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako. He later transferred to the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) to head its legal affairs department. He held the positions of director, legal counsel and corporate secretary in various PLDT subsidiaries and affiliate companies.

He was a professorial lecturer for four years at the U.P. College of Law.

After almost 20 years, he retired from PLDT with the rank of First Vice President for Legal and Corporate Affairs, and Assistant Corporate Secretary.

He then moved to the Office of then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to serve  as its Legal Counsel and Chief of Staff for 11 months.

In 2000, he became the General Counsel and Readers' Advocate of the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper where he wrote a regular column on readers' complaints and current national and local issues.

 

 

THADDEUS E. VENTURANZA
Commissioner

Commissioner Thaddeus E. Venturanza  was both an audit and law practitioner prior to his appointment on September 11, 2006.

He finished his undergraduate studies in Accounting at San Sebastian College in 1981 and placed 15th in the CPA Board Examination the following year.   Upon graduation and passing the Board, he worked as an auditor at Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co.  (SGV) in charge of the preparation of financial reports, flowcharts and designs of accounting systems, review of internal accounting controls and procedures of prospective clients and evaluation of the effectiveness of the clients’ system and procedure controls.  In 1986, he established his own private practice as an audit partner at Venturanza & Associates, CPAs.

While as a partner in said audit firm, he studied Law at the Ateneo de Manila University and topped the bar (5th place)  in September 1989.  He was then appointed as Court Attorney III at the Supreme Court Judiciary Planning, Development and Implementation Office and thereafter, established himself as law partner in the different law firms, latest of which is the Venturanza & Quizon-Venturanza Law Office in which he handled civil, corporate,  labor, tax and criminal cases.

He also served as Vice Governor of the Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro, from 2001 to 2004. During his term, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan enacted 26 quality ordinances, mostly dealing with environmental protection and preservation.

He was also a Professor of Law at the following universities and colleges:  Far Eastern University, University of Perpetual Help-Binan, Divine Word College of Calapan and his Alma Mater, San Sebastian College.

 

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