Use of Electronic Signatures for the Submission of Audited Financial Statements during the ECQ Period Beginning 29 March 2021 and until Further Notice

April 8, 2021 SEC NOTICE TO : All Concerned SUBJECT : Use of Electronic Signatures for the Submission of Audited Financial Statements during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) Period Beginning 29 March 2021 and until Further Notice The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received requests from concerned professional and business organizations to allow the use of the electronic signatures in the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the fiscal years ending this 2021. The request is primarily due to the implementation of an enhanced community quarantine to address the rising cases of COVID-19 in the National Capital Region and contiguous provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal and the existence of new variants necessitating the imposition of increased restrictions and stricter health protocols. In this regard, we wish to inform all concerned corporations and the general public that the Commission, on March 9, 2021, issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2021, or the Schedule and Filing of Annual Financial Statements (AFS), General Information Sheet (GIS) and Other Covered Reports, which officially launched the use of the Online Submission Tool (OST) for filing the AFS. Under the said Memorandum Circular, all stock corporations are mandated to enroll and file their AFS thru OST starting this year. Non-stock corporations, on the other hand, are given the option to enroll and file reports through the OST until next year. For those corporations who will encounter proven difficulties in the enrollment procedures, as well as in the uploading and filing of their scanned AFS through the OST, may be allowed to physically file to SEC through the SEC Express Appointment System (SESAS) their manually signed reports due for this year. Therefore, corporations duly enrolled with the OST, may be allowed to file their electronically signed AFS through the system. The strict compliance with mandatory enrollment under the OST gives assurance to the SEC and the general public that the AFS these corporations filed are duly signed and officially submitted to the Commission by their authorized filers, and that the same information contained therein are true and correct. It is incumbent upon the management and the external auditors of corporations that filed their electronically signed AFS to strictly observe their respective protocols or procedures in signing documents electronically and should ensure that manually signed AFS will be available upon directive by the Commission pursuant to the exercise of its supervisory and investigative authority and visitorial power under the Securities Regulation Code and Revised Corporation Code. The Commission shall make further adjustments in its operations, when necessary. Updates shall be posted on the SEC website, https://www.sec.gov.ph/ , and its official Facebook page, @PhilippineSEC. For other concerns, the public may contact the relevant SEC departments or offices during office hours through the email addresses and interim hotline numbers provided in the SEC Contact Center posted on the SEC website, https://www.sec.gov.ph. Please be guided accordingly. Pasay City, April 8, 2021.