Manny Villar on SEC raps: ‘Baseless’
Former Senate President Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. is denying any wrongdoing following the filing of a criminal complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Villar Land Holdings Corp. and several of its officers, including members of his family.
In a statement on Tuesday, the property tycoon said his understanding of the complaint is based solely on media reports, noting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) still has to determine whether a preliminary investigation will be conducted.
Villar said his company has consistently upheld the highest standards of good corporate governance.
“All our businesses and officers understand that corporate good governance is essential for building trust among investors and fostering sustainable growth. In fact, we welcomed and fully cooperated when the SEC began its fact-finding investigation,” he said.
Villar stressed that material developments had been properly disclosed and that the company continues to coordinate with regulators on the status of its financials.
“We are unequivocally committed to transparency and compliance with existing rules and regulations being enforced by both the SEC and the Philippine Stock Exchange. We have consistently disclosed material developments and continue to coordinate with regulatory bodies regarding the status of our financials,” he said.
Rags to riches
“In all my years as an entrepreneur, from the time I helped my mother sell shrimps and fish in Divisoria to leading one of the most successful businesses in the country, I have never engaged in illegal practices designed to defraud customers and investors, or unduly benefit myself or the companies I own,” he added.
It was a reference to his boyhood story of humble beginnings, one that Villar also incorporated in his campaign messaging when he ran for President in 2010.
In Tuesday’s statement, the billionaire also rejected allegations of illegal conduct, saying he has never engaged in practices meant to defraud investors or unduly benefit himself or the companies he owns.
“I assure the public that Villar Land will respond to all these allegations in the proper forum,” he said, adding that the company will cooperate with an impartial investigation that upholds due process and protects public interest.
Villar said he remained confident that the charges filed by the SEC would be disproven.
Stocks of publicly listed Villar Land plunged on Monday after the commission’s weekend announcement that it had filed the criminal complaint, opening at P700 a share, sharply down from the last closing price of P933 on Jan. 29, and ended the day at P667.
The decline continued on Tuesday, with its shares closing at P608 apiece.
Villar Land recorded a 52-week high of P2,498 a share on Feb. 19, 2025.
Violations
In a complaint filed at the DOJ on Jan. 30, the SEC alleged that Villar Land, formerly Golden MV Holdings Inc., with violations of Sections 24.1(d) and 26.3 of Republic Act No. 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), for making false or misleading statements and engaging in acts that allegedly defrauded investors, specifically insider trading and market manipulation.
Respondents include the Villar patriarch, his wife and former Sen. Cynthia Villar, directors Cynthia Javarez, Manuel Paolo Villar, incumbent Senators Camille Villar and Mark Villar, as well as independent directors Ana Marie Pagsibigan and Garth Castañeda.
Section 73 of the SRC provides that violations of its provisions carry a fine of P50,000 to P5 million or imprisonment of not less than seven years to a maximum of 21 years, or both at the discretion of the court.
The case stemmed from the SEC’s investigation into Villar Land’s public disclosures and trading activities.
The regulator cited the company’s disclosure of its 2024 financial statements, which reported total assets of P1.33 trillion and a net income of P999.72 billion, up sharply from only P1.46 billion the year before due to a revaluation of its real estate holdings.
The SEC alleged that these figures were released before the completion of the company’s external audit.
When audited financial statements were later submitted, Villar Land reported total assets of only P35.7 billion.
The SEC alleged that Villar-related entities engaged in trading activities that created artificial demand and supported the company’s share price.
Past convictions
The government has won some of the insider trading cases it brought to court.
In 2024, Calata Corp. chair Joseph Calata and corporate secretary Jose Marie Fabella were fined by the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) P8 million for providing “misleading and exaggerated” claims over the supposed $1.4-billion Mactan Leisure City project, thus inflating the firm’s share price in 2016.
They were warned that failure to pay the fines due to insolvency may lead them to serving time in prison.
In May 2021, the Pasig City RTC sentenced Johnny Yap, then president, sales manager, and director of Solar Securities Inc., to 14 years in prison and a fine of P1 million for trades that led to a dizzying 1,462-percent surge in the stock price of the loss-making gaming stock BW Resources.
In July 2016, the SEC slapped the late businessman Roberto V. Ongpin with a P174-million fine for “insider trading” ahead of a bidding war for Philex Mining shares in 2009.
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