Under draft rules issued on March 4, 2026, broker directors would be limited to 10 cumulative years of service, with a two-year cooling-off period after five years. This was first reported by the Philippine Star.
The SEC, led by chair Francis Ed. Lim, noted the proposed rules will help develop the Philippine capital market by giving “qualified brokers opportunities to serve and provide new perspectives in the board of an Exchange”.
If applied today, the policy would affect four of the five incumbent broker directors at the exchange—two of whom have been PSE directors for over two decades.
These are Ma. Vivian Yuchengco (28 years), Eddie Gobing (25 years), Wilson Sy (12 years), Diosdado Arroyo (6 years) and Anthony Te (4 years).
Big picture
This is the biggest enforcement move by the SEC against the PSE's leadership since the BW Resources stock manipulation scandal triggered sweeping reforms and the passage of the Securities Regulation Code of 2000.
Those reforms dismantled the exchange’s long-criticized broker “old boys’ club,” cutting broker board control to below 20 percent by 2018.
Still, some brokers voiced concerns that strict term limits could remove experienced traders from the PSE board. Market participants are currently preparing their comments to the SEC.
4 out of 5 broker directors affected by rules
Based on its latest annual report, Yuchengco has served as a director of the Philippine Stock Exchange since 2004, following earlier board terms in 1993–1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000–2001.
Yuchengco, who heads the First Resources Management and Securities Corp., was also the chair of the PSE from 2002–2003 and made history in 1989 as the first woman president of the Makati Stock Exchange.
Gobing, president of Lucky Securities Inc., has been a director of the Philippine Stock Exchange since 2001 and previously held roles within the exchange starting in 1998.
Sy, chair of Wealth Securities, joined the board in 2016 and was previously PSE chair from 1996 to 1998.
Arroyo, president of Securities Specialists Inc., was elected broker director of the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2020.
If the proposed rules are approved, Arroyo—the son of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo—would be required to step down and observe a cooling-off period after exceeding the five-year service threshold.
Te, nominee and director of Armstrong Securities Inc., would be the only broker director who remains fully qualified under the proposed rules, having joined the PSE board in 2022.
Who else is on the PSE board?
Apart from the broker directors, those elected to the 2025 PSE board were independent directors Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Peter B. Favila, Andrew Jerome T. Gan (later succeeded by Jaime Bautista), and Vicente L. Panlilio.
Also re-elected were sectoral directors Marilyn Victorio-Aquino representing issuers, Ferdinand K. Constantino (succeeded by Cecile Ang) and Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso representing investors, and Edgardo G. Lacson representing other market participants.
The PSE is chaired by Jose T. Pardo and led by president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
