Post Views: 22,112

Privacy Policy

Menu
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Privacy Policy
  4. /
  5. Annual Financial Statements (AFS)

PRIVACY NOTICE FOR FILERS OF ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (AFS)

1. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

SEC collects from filers, corporate officers and external auditor personal information such as but not limited to full name, signature, accreditation number/s and accreditation validity period, auditing firm (if a partner) and taxpayer information number. The name, signature, contact details, business address, roll of attorney’s number of the notary public are also collected for AFS of certain class of corporations.

2. HOW WE COLLECT

SEC collects, uses and/or processes personal information based on submitted and filed Annual Financial Statements (AFS) and related documents. The submission of AFS is done online using the electronic filing and submission tool (eFAST or OST).

3. WHY WE COLLECT

SEC is mandated by the Corporation Code and the Securities Regulation Code to regulate the corporate sector and the securities markets. The collected personal information will be utilized for regulatory purposes pursuant to our statutory functions to ensure full and timely disclosure of material information, protect the investors, and minimize if not eliminate fraudulent or manipulative devices and practices that create distortion in a free market. Further, the SEC, as supervising authority, is mandated to assist the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in effectively implementing the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and to obtain, keep and make accessible information necessary to detect and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing in the country.

SEC is also mandated by Executive Order No. 2 (2016) or the Freedom of Information (FOI) regulation, to provide every Filipino access to information, official records, public records and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development. Thus, SEC treats the AFS as public record which is available to the public.

To the extent allowed by law and relevant regulations, SEC shares with and makes available the AFS to interested parties in order to fulfill the aforementioned functions and mandate, for purposes such as:

a. complying with court orders, subpoenas and/or other legal obligations;
b. complying with requests from law enforcement agencies in the conduct of their investigations;
c. complying with requests from regulatory and administrative agencies in the conduct of their investigations, due diligence and policy and research studies;
d. sharing of information with domestic and international organizations and other researchers for their research initiatives;
e. complying with requests from investing public, prospective business partners and clients in the conduct of due diligence of companies and their stockholders and officers including their personal and financial information to enable them to form an informed investment and business decision;
f. determining the compliance of companies and their stockholders with foreign ownership limitations in cases where the entities are engaged in fully or partially nationalized activities;
g. monitoring the effect of the securities issue on ownership, on the mix of ownership, especially foreign and local ownership;
h. monitoring the companies’ implementation of good corporate governance practice of having board diversity in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, culture, skills, competence and knowledge;
i. complying with the requests from claimants against companies and their stockholders and officers in the enforcement of their legal claims;
j. complying with the Bureau of Internal Revenue requirement to reflect the valid Taxpayer Information Number of the companies and their stockholders and officers, and discourage and prevent the use of fake and multiple TINs in corporate and business transactions.
k. complying with legal mandate to provide true, correct, timely and complete information such that the filing is under oath.

4. HOW WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE

Personal information and other information collected through the AFS are stored in secure data facilities. The SEC has adequate security safeguards to protect the information from loss, unauthorized access, use or disclosure.

5. RIGHTS OF THE DATA SUBJECT

Under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, data subject refers to an individual whose personal information is collected and processed. SEC is duly bound to observe and respect your privacy rights, including your right to information, right to access, right to correct, right to remove, right to damages and right to data portability.
FEEDBACK ON THE PRIVACY NOTICE

For more information, suggestion and feedback on this Privacy Notice, you may send your email to our Data Protection Officer at dpo@sec.gov.ph