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SEC is watchdog, not lapdog: Francis Lim on regulator's biggest controv

Logo of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  in this photo taken on June 22, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Raine Musñgi

ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines — What happens when the regulator takes on the powerful, challenges entrenched interests, and then has to police its own people?For Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Francis Lim, those questions have defined some of the most controversial moves of his first year in office.In an exclusive interview with ANC’s The Boardroom, Attorney Lim opened up about three cases that have put the SEC under intense scrutiny: the criminal complaint involving Villar Land Holdings, the fight over term limits for Philippine Stock Exchange directors, and the arrest of an SEC official over an alleged extortion case.And Lim had some blunt answers.On the Villar case, he said he personally reviewed the evidence despite knowing he was dealing with people who were “powerful, both politically and economically.”The SEC&#x27;s complaint followed disclosures putting Villar Land&#x27;s assets at about P1.33 trillion, followed by audited figures of about P35.7 billion. The SEC has alleged market manipulation, insider trading and misleading disclosures. The allegations remain subject to legal proceedings.“The law is the law.” <div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WgZSVIuB8G8?&amp;t=120s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>Then there is the battle over long-serving directors at the PSE, including Vivian Yuchengco.Lim defended the SEC&#x27;s 10-year cumulative term limit for broker-directors, saying the goal was to level the playing field and make room for new talent.There had been pushback, he admitted. He shared how they found their way to a light-hearted compromise.“Nobody is indispensable.”But perhaps the most uncomfortable controversy came from inside the SEC itself.After an SEC official was arrested in an NBI entrapment operation over an alleged extortion scheme, Lim said the official offered to resign.He refused to simply let him walk away.Instead, the SEC proceeded with its administrative case before going further. “The letter of resignation is hereby denied because it violates our core values of integrity and accountability.” So, how does a regulator regulate itself?And when the SEC says it is a “watchdog, not a lapdog of business,” what does that mean when the target is a billionaire family, a powerful market institution, or one of its own officials?Those are only some of the questions Francis Lim answers in this wide-ranging conversation. Watch the full interview to hear his side of the controversies, the decisions behind them, and what he believes the SEC must change next.

What happens when the regulator takes on the powerful, challenges entrenched interests, and then has to police its own people?

What happens when the regulator takes on the powerful, challenges entrenched interests, and then has to police its own people?

SEC is watchdog, not lapdog: Francis Lim on regulator's biggest controversies

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SEC is watchdog, not lapdog: Francis Lim on regulator's biggest controversies

Raine Musñgi,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 17, 2026 09:55 AM PHT

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Updated August 17, 2026 09:56 AM PHT

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SEC

Francis Lim

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Securities and Exchange Commission

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