Emilio Benito Aquino is the first CPA-Lawyer appointed as Chairperson and CEO of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He will serve for a term of seven years. He assumed office last June 7, 2018. He was earlier appointed as SEC Commissioner on December 2, 2016.

After a successful decade-long practice as a CPA Lawyer, he returned to the SEC where he earlier on rose through the ranks to become the youngest Director of its former Prosecution and Enforcement (PED) and Non Traditional Securities and Instruments (NTD) Departments. He also headed the SEC Davao and Zamboanga Extension Offices. Concurrently, he is the Chairperson of the government-owned Credit Information Corporation, as well as Chair of the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council. He is a sitting member of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. He also chairs the ASEAN Capital Market Forum Corporate Governance Working Group.

He is the Supervising Commissioner for Enforcement and the Offices of the General Counsel and Commission Secretary. He led the recent sweep against investment scams, and illegal and abusive lenders and is now the SEC’s point man on Fintech, Blockchain and Digital Assets.

Upon his assumption of the SEC Chairmanship, he helped shepherd the passage of the Revised Corporation Code, a landmark legislation that was signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last February 21, 2019.

Under his leadership, SEC was awarded in Geneva, Switzerland as one of top five recipients of the United Nations ISAR Honours 2019 for best practice in the area of sustainability and SDG reporting of companies. The Commission was also conferred the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Award for innovative measures undertaken in the delivery of public service. Further, SEC maintained its distinction as among the best performing government agencies per the Makati Business Club/MAP survey.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce major in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude and Valedictorian at the Universidad de Zamboanga in 1984. He finished his law studies at San Beda University where he was a Dean’s Lister and Silver Medalist. He placed 16th in the 1992 Bar Exams.

Under a government scholarship, he earned a Master’s degree in Public Management at the Development Academy of the Philippines, graduating at the top of his class. He was conferred a Certificate of Study by the University of Sydney for a course on Effective Governance. He likewise attended and completed the Fintech Advanced Program at the People’s Bank of China School of Finance, Tshinghua University, in Beijing and the Fintech Regulatory Innovation Programme of the University of Cambridge, UK. He had also undergone the AIM Management Development Program and now serves as an AIM Executive in Residence.

He is a Past President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Zambasulta Chapter which was recognized under his able leadership as the country’s Best IBP Chapter (Medium Category) during the 2015 IBP National Convention in Cebu. Likewise, the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, conferred to him the Special Achievement Award in Government Service and later recognized him as its Outstanding CPA in Government. Very recently, he won as the “2022 CEO of the Year” in the IDC Future Enterprise Awards for the Digital Transformation initiatives of SEC.

Javey Paul Durban Francisco is a career public servant who has been with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for over 20 years. He rose from the ranks starting out as a Securities Counsel II in 2001, promoted to Securities Counsel III in 2003, then Officer-in-charge in 2005.  Prior to his appointment as Commissioner by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on April 18, 2018, he was the SEC’s Director for its Davao Extension Office, a position he has held since 2007.  Said Office has jurisdiction over SEC operations in Regions XI, XII and some parts of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Mr. Francisco was reappointed in March this year for a 7 year term.    

Mr. Francisco currently supervises the Company Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD) which is in-charge of the registration and monitoring of corporations and partnerships. In such capacity, he is also in the forefront of Ease of Doing Business efforts of the Commission and the development of automated registration and related systems. He also supervises the Human Resource and Administration Department (HRAD) as well as the Commission’s nine Extension Offices throughout the country.

His professional career as a lawyer began with a stint at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz Law Offices or ACCRALaw. While at ACCRA, he handled various corporate, labor, litigation as well as public interest cases.   He joined the government service in 2001 with a short stay at the Office of the Ombudsman for Mindanao.  In the same year, he transferred to the SEC. 

Mr. Francisco is a product of the Ateneo de Davao University where he studied from elementary up to law school.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts major in Philosophy degree in 1991 and his law degree in 1995.  He was admitted to the Bar in 1996.  In 2005, he earned his Master in Management degree from the University of the Philippines in Mindanao.  After completing the Executive Leadership Program of the Career Executive Service Board, he was granted Career Executive Service Eligibility in 2010.

His professional and civic affiliations include the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Davao City Chapter and the National Union of Career Executive Service Officers or NUCESO. He was a director and treasurer of the Association of Regional Executives of National Agencies in Region XI (ARENA XI).  He was also a former member of the board of trustees of the Ateneo de Davao University Alumni Association, a life member of the Mindanao Amateur Radio Association or MINDARA and is a Past Master of Datu Bago Masonic Lodge No. 197 of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines.

Kelvin Lester King Lee, a lawyer, was appointed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner on 25 January 2019. He currently writes a business law column for the Manila Times and lectures for various Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) programs. He also lectures on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance at the Rizal Memorial College School of Law. He was selected as a Senior Fellow of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Atty. Lee is the Supervising Commissioner of the Markets and Securities Regulation Department (MSRD) and the Information & Communications Technology Department (ICTD). He also spearheaded the establishment of (and currently supervises) the International Affairs and Protocol Division (IAPD) and PhiliFintech Innovation Office (PhiliFiNNO) of the Commission.

He holds multiple international designations concurrent to his functions as Commissioner. He is a Philippine Representative to the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), Co-chair of the ASEAN Working Committee on Capital Market Development (WC-CMD), Co-chair of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum Sustainable Finance Working Group (ACMF SFWG), Co-chair of the Joint Sustainable Finance Working Group (JSFWG) of the ACMF and WC-CMD, Representative to the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Advisory Council, an Alternate Board member of the ASEAN Taxonomy Board (ATB), a Member of the ASEAN Senior Level Committee (SLC) for Financial Integration, a Member of the Steering Committee on Capacity Building (SCCB) to support the ASEAN Financial Integration, and Representative of the Commission to the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum (ABMF) and the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN).

In the Philippines, he is concurrently designated as Vice-Chairperson of the Islamic Finance Coordination Forum (IFCF), a Member of the Executive Committee of the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Inter-Agency Board (IAB), a Member of the Executive Committee of the Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC), alternate Representative to the Financial Inclusion Steering Committee (FISC), SEC Representative to the Financial Sector Forum (FSF) and its Fintech Committee, and SEC Representative to the Capital Market Development Council (CMDC).

Prior to joining the Commission, Atty. Lee was an Assistant Secretary in the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), Office of the President (OP). As Assistant Secretary, he was designated as the Chairman of the MTRCB Appeals Committee, Acting Chairman (on behalf of the Executive Secretary) of the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), and Board Member (Palace Observer) in the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Board of Directors.

Before entering government service, Atty. Lee held positions as a Partner in various Davao and Manila based law firms. He began his legal career as an Associate Lawyer of the Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako (SRMO) Law Office and was a Columnist for the Sunstar Davao newspaper.

Commissioner Karlo S. Bello is a lawyer with extensive experience in government affairs and public policy. He took his oath of office as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 27 August 2019.
Atty. Bello previously served as undersecretary for field operations and policy, planning and research at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the lead government agency ensuring the equitable distribution and cultivation of agricultural lands in the country.

At the DAR, Atty. Bello was designated as ex-officio member of the DAR Adjudication Board; chairperson of the Policy Review and Formulation Committee; vice-chairperson of the National Task Force on Land Inventory; vice-chairperson of the Technical Review Committee for the Project Beneficiaries Development/ Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Support Program Monitoring and Evaluation System; and member of the Agrarian Law Implementation Rules Consolidation Team.

He was also the chairperson of the special team that represented the DAR in the InterAgency Task Force in the Formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order No. 75, Series of 2019, which directs the identification of lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for agriculture for distribution to qualified beneficiaries.

In addition, he was designated as the department’s permanent and alternate representative to and as an action officer of the Task Force Bangon Marawi; chairperson of Task Force Agrarian Reform Boracay Island; vice-chairperson of Task Force Negros Oriental; and chairperson of the special task force constituted to address the Hacienda Nene incident in 2018.

Atty. Bello also served as councilor in Davao City for three terms from 2007 to 2016, becoming acting vice mayor and acting mayor in several occasions. As councilor, he was the president pro tempore and chairperson of the standing committees on Finance, Ways and Means and Appropriations, and Civil Political and Human Rights; and vice-chairperson of the committees on Youth and Sports, Labor and Employment Opportunities, City-owned Real Properties, Peace and Public Safety, and Ethics and Good Government.

Prior to joining the government, Atty. Bello engaged in private law practice. He is a founding partner at Tiongco Siao Bello & Associates, a full-service law firm based in Ortigas Center, Pasig City with branches in Cebu City and Davao City. He left the law firm following his appointment to the DAR.

Atty. Bello graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2000. He then earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo Law School in 2005. He would specialize in administrative law, after his admission to the Philippine Bar in 2007.

Atty. McJill Bryant T. Fernandez was appointed as Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission on 08 March 2022. He currently supervises the Corporate Governance and Finance Department, which is the lead SEC department on, among others, (i) the formulation of corporate governance-related policies; (ii) regulation of foundations, issuers of proprietary and non-proprietary shares, mutual fund companies, investment companies and public companies; (iii) governance of the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council; and (iv) the implementation of sustainability reporting across entities in the Philippine corporate sector.

He likewise supervises the (a) Financial Management Department of the Commission, which is the budgeting, treasury and accounting office of the SEC, tasked to develop financial policies and guidelines, as well as ensure complete and transparent accounting and reporting of the SEC’s financial transactions; and (b) Financing and Lending Companies Division, which is specifically tasked to regulate and monitor the financing and lending industries in accordance with the Financing Company Act and Lending Companies Regulation Act, among others.

Commissioner Fernandez heads the SEC’s own Sustainability Committee, which handles the sustainability initiatives within the Commission, the SEC Department Legislative Liaison Office which is the focal body on the Commission’s legislative agenda and coordinates with both Houses of Congress for the said purpose, and the Commission’s National Competition Policy Committee which ensures consistency of SEC issuances with prevailing competition policies and regulations promulgated by the Philippine Competition Commission

Before joining the SEC, he served as Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration (DESGA) under the Office of the President, where he assisted the Executive Secretary in articulating policy directives of the President through Executive Orders, Administrative Orders, Proclamations and other ordinances, evaluated treaties, executive agreements, foreign borrowings and grants, processed the establishment of special economic zones, and addressed policy, legal and governance concerns of various national government agencies, and government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

He concurrently represented the Office of the President and the Executive Secretary in the Board of oversight and interagency bodies, including the Development Budget Coordination Committee, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, National Economic Development Authority Board – Investment Coordination Committee, as well as the Cabinet Clusters on Infrastructure, Economic Development, Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction, and Human Development and Poverty Reduction.

Commissioner Fernandez likewise served in the governing boards of different GOCCs, including the Laguna Lake Development Authority, Development Academy of the Philippines, and the Philippine Center for Economic Development.

Prior to his role as DESGA, Commissioner Fernandez worked at the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs and handled the review of government contracts, recommendations for executive clemency, and resolution of cases from agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions, as well as administrative disciplinary cases of presidential appointees and local chief executives

Commissioner Fernandez graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines – Manila with a Bachelor of Arts degree, major in Political Science, and with second honors from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law. He was admitted to the bar in April 2009.