By James A. Loyola, May 7, 2025; Manila Bulletin

https://mb.com.ph/2025/05/07/sec-launches-6-new-digital-platforms-for-ease-of-doing-business

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched six new digital platforms and a modern data center that will enhance the delivery of its services to the public, as part of its efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the country.

The Commission unveiled the fourth wave of its digital initiatives, which includes the Hierarchical and Applicable Relations and Beneficial Ownership Registry (HARBOR) and the SEC Verification of Electronic Records and Information Trust and Authentication System (VERITAS).

Also launched were the SEC Electronic Exceptional and Alternative Submission Environment (EASE), Electronic Workbench and Analytics Technical Computing HUB (eWATCH), Document Management System (DMS), and Workflow Management System (WMS).

To support the expansion of its digital tools, the SEC officially inaugurated the SEC Data Center, an in-house facility that contains the records, applications and servers that will make services faster, more secure, and easier to access.

“Over the past few years, the SEC has committed to pursue innovation, in line with the thrust of the Marcos administration to go digital for more efficient delivery of services to the public,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.

He added that, “Our push for digitalization—a core component of sustainability—allows us to fulfill our mandate under the Ease of Doing Business Act. By relying on technology, the SEC makes its services easier, faster, and more secure, thereby satisfying the demand for a more efficient system aligned with local and international regulatory standards.”

The new digital tools aim to enhance the SEC’s services to the public and internal processes to enable more efficient operations, in line with the directive of the Marcos administration to digitalize government services for better public service delivery.

To improve transparency in beneficial ownership disclosures, the SEC launched HARBOR which will allow authenticated authorized filers to securely submit and update beneficial ownership data.

By removing the need for the manual management of beneficial ownership information, the system will reduce delays and errors, enabling the provision of faster and more reliable data to businesses, regulators and government agencies.

HARBOR will also contribute to preventing the misuse of corporations for illegal activities, as part of the government’s mission to keep the Philippines out of the grey list of global watchdog Financial Action Task Force.

Leveraging blockchain technology, VERITAS will improve document credentialing by allowing multiple authorized parties to approve and sign corporate documents, such as board resolutions and compliance reports, in real time.

Meanwhile, EASE will serve as an alternative platform that will cater to the submission of reportorial requirements by corporations under dispute status and are temporarily barred from using their Electronic Filing and Submission Tool accounts to submit annual reports.

To boost regulatory compliance, eWATCH will notify corporations of the deadline for filing of reportorial requirements, and flag them for late and non-submission.

By providing access to corporations’ compliance status, the digital tool aims to improve the compliance rate on the submission of annual reports, helping them avoid penalties and fostering a culture of accountability.

The fourth wave also includes two internal systems that will improve the efficiency of the Commission’s workflows.

Addressing the demand to manage and retrieve large volumes of regulatory documents, the SEC rolled out the DMS to improve document traceability, accessibility, and organization. This will allow users to track document changes, providing a clear audit trail and ensuring accountability.

DMS will also be deployed at the SEC extension offices to ensure data sovereignty, faster local access and business continuity amid connectivity interruptions.

Meanwhile, WMS aims to improve operational efficiency, accountability and service delivery across all departments, by allowing all SEC units to design and configure their own process flows, including document approval, license applications, compliance verifications, or inter-agency coordination.

By digitizing internal processes, the SEC equips its workforce with tools that support greater transparency, accountability, and performance monitoring that allows for continuous process improvement.

To strengthen its operations, the Commission unveiled the SEC Data Center which will provide secure, scalable, and reliable infrastructure to support the SEC’s digital systems.

The data center will enable the SEC to process information faster, reduce downtime, and ensure that its services are consistently available, boosting the Commission’s capacity to exercise regulatory oversight and improve investor protection.

“We envision the Data Center to strengthen our response to disruptions by having the ability to handle everything from one place and through our own team of technical experts. In turn, this will pave the way for quicker transactions, better access to services, and stronger data security that will benefit our stakeholders,” Aquino said.