The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has partnered with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to help streamline its operation by allowing online submission of documents and requirements.
The Integrated Government Philippines (iGovPhil), a project of the DOST, said digitally signed documents submitted by SEC clients online will be accepted as legal and authentic. This is made possible with the use of digital certificates issued by iGovPhil through its Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) service.
Deomar Pedrosa, head of iGovPhil?s PKI team, said the SEC has required 150 licensed broker dealers to apply for digital certificates that will allow them to digitally sign the Risk-Based Capital Adequacy (RBCA) reports they regularly submit.
The RBCA measures the minimum amount of capital appropriate for the company to support its overall business operations in consideration of its size and risk profile. By allowing online submission of this report, the SEC is hoping to reduce the long lines of people submitting papers in its offices.
?We received a total of 64 applications for digital certificates from 33 licensed broker dealers during an orientation seminar we conducted at the SEC on April 5,? Pedrosa said.
He said three more orientation seminars are scheduled to accommodate all the 150 broker dealers: April 19 and 27 and May 3. Applications for the certificates will also be accepted on those days.
The SEC mandates licensed brokers to submit their RCBA reports regularly, pursuant to the 2015 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Securities and Regulation Code. This mandate requires brokers to frequently go to SEC offices to submit the needed documents.
In addition to brokers who are regularly transacting with SEC, there are more people needing SEC services.
?Our transactions in SEC still require submission of physical documents to the office, which cause crowding of company representatives in SEC offices as deadline nears,? said Norma Olaya, chief counsel of SEC?s Markets and Intermediaries Division, during the April 5 PKI orientation seminar. ?This will serve as a test run to check the plausibility of large-scale adoption of PKI by SEC.?
Olaya added: ?We want to improve our system. I think adoption of PKI will help us deliver more efficient and faster services to our clients and stakeholders.?
The PKI allows users of public networks like the Internet to share and exchange data privately and securely through the use of digital certificates.
