THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reminded non-stock corporations to submit their mandatory disclosure form (MDF) on or before February 28 this year.
SEC-Bacolod Extension Office, in a press statement Monday, January 13, said the Commission En Banc recently issued Memorandum Circular No. 25 Series of 2019.
The circular is entitled “2019 Guidelines for the Protection of SEC Registered Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) from Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Abuse.”
The 2019 NPO guidelines are intended to address gaps in the regulatory framework which are most likely to be exploited for purposes of committing money laundering or terrorist financing.
The SEC said among the measures adopted in addressing those gaps include the requirement imposed upon all non-stock corporations to submit the MDF within 60 days from effectivity of the guidelines.
“The submission of MDF is required for the purpose of establishing a classification system on the nature of activities and purpose of non-stock corporations, identifying the compositions of the NPO sector subject to the jurisdiction and supervision of the commission, and implementing a risk-based approach of supervision,” it added.
SEC-Bacolod Extension Office said this will also enable the commission to clean-up its database by revoking the certificate of registration of inactive or defunct non-stock corporations.
SEC records showed that there are 318, 131 non-stock corporations registered with the commission which will be required to submit the MDF.
For faster gathering and processing of information, the MDF will be filled out online. Non-stock corporations may refer to the notice posted on the SEC website last January 8 providing the steps on filling.
Non-profit organizations (NPOs) have been identified as vulnerable to the threat of terrorist financing and money laundering.
This is because of the nature of their activities involving the raising and disbursing and cross border movement of funds.
Moreover, the MDFs may be submitted directly to the Anti-Money Laundering Division (AMLD) of the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) at SEC-Main Office or to any of the Extension Offices (EOs).
SEC-Bacolod Extension Office may receive the MDFs and will forward the same to AMLD at SEC-Main Office. (PR)