SEC Recognized as Global Leader in Good Governance for Fifth Straight Year

Prof. Humayon Dar, Chairman of the Global Good Governance Awards and Dato Seri Paduka Awang Mohd Riza bin Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yunos, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Office in Brunei present the 3G Leadership Award for Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance and the 3G Championship Award in ESG to the SEC, represented by CGFD Chief Counsel Mara Louise A. Ruiz, during the 10th 3G Awards on May 13 in Brunei Darussalam. (Photo courtesy of 3G Awards Committee)

​The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received two Global Good Governance (3G) awards from London-based Cambridge International Finance Advisory (IFA) for the fifth consecutive year, further stamping its mark as a leader in good corporate governance and sustainability.

​Cambridge IFA conferred the SEC with the 3G Leadership Award for Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance and the 3G Championship Award in ESG Practice during the 10th Annual Awards Ceremony held in Brunei Darussalam on May 13.

The 3G Leadership Award for Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance is given to organizations that demonstrated strong commitment to fostering a good corporate governance climate and promoting sustainable business practices through the implementation of corporate governance codes and sustainability reporting guidelines.

Meanwhile, the 3G Championship Award in ESG Practices, which the SEC also received in 2023, is given to organizations that leverage emerging technologies and sustainable growth strategies while considering their impact to the society.

“Since 2018, we have implemented policies that transformed ‘sustainability’ from a mere buzz word into an important driver of change in the corporate sector. With such policies, we now see companies embedding sustainable and good governance principles to guide their own operations,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.

“These 3G Awards from Cambridge IFA only strengthen our commitment to continue implementing reforms that will foster transparency and sustainability in the corporate sector,” he added.

The SEC has received the 3G Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance from 2021 to 2023. It was also conferred with 3G Transparency Award in 2022 and 2024, and the 3G Best Corporate Governance Policy & Disclosure Award last year.

As early as 2019, the SEC has required publicly listed companies (PLCs) to submit their sustainability reports through SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 4, Series of 2019. The Commission aims to gradually expand this mandate to all companies by tiers, beginning with large capital listed entities in 2026.

To further promote sustainable practices among corporations, the SEC kicked off the Small and Medium Industries and Large Enterprises Embracing Sustainability (SMILEES) Roadshow in a bid to foster awareness, develop measuring tools, and establish effective monitoring schemes of such businesses.

The SEC also continues to leverage technology to achieve its goal of enabling paperless transactions in the company registration process.

In April, the Commission directed the mandatory use of the SEC Zuper Easy Registration Online (ZERO), which has paved the way for a fully online registration process by allowing applicants to digitally authenticate registration documents. The system eliminates the need for wet signatures and submission of hard copies of registration documents.

For its sustainability efforts, the SEC has also been conferred with the International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) Honours by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2019 for mandating the submission of sustainability reports for PLCs.

It won the same awards 2022 and 2024 for its efforts to promote sustainability reporting, making the SEC the institution with the most number of ISAR Honours in the national category.