Six brokers and four independent directors were elected to the 15-member board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) after an annual stockholders meeting held Saturday.

Presidential son-in-law John Aloysius S. Bernas was voted as one of the independent directors. Bernas, 47, recently married Luli Arroyo, the only daughter of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The board also has a new chairman. Hans B. Sicat, a 48-year-old outsourcing firm owner and former Citigroup investment banker, replaced former Supreme Court Justice Jose Vitug, who did not run for this year's elections. Francisco Ed. Lim was re-elected to his fifth term as president and CEO.

Both Sicat and Lim are also independent directors. The other independent director is Vicente L. Panlilio.

In a press conference, Sicat said he was happy with the current line-up. "It's an interesting composition. The most important thing is you see everyone is professional and responsible in their roles. We're all able to talk openly about issues within the context of a board meeting.”

Lim added the decision to have Sicat as chairman was unanimous, "His credentials speak for themselves. He has been exposed to the capital markets for years, as well as international best practices."

Meanwhile, brokers who were voted to the PSE board include Ma. Vivian Yuchengco, Eddie Gobing, and David Chua. Taking the "open seats," or the slots that brokers are temporarily allowed to fill, are Ismael G. Cruz, Eusebio H. Tanco, and Alejandro T. Yu.

Non-broker directors are Wilfred D. Son Keng Po, Omelita J. Tiangco, Amor Iliscupidez, Anabelle L. Chua, and Eduardo L. David.

Former director William Ang was appointed as Corporate Secretary. The new board appointed other officers including Alejandro Yu as treasurer, and Aissa Encarnacion as assistant corporate secretary.

The Securities Regulation Code (SRC) requires that brokers reduce their ownership of the local bourse to just 20 percent, or equivalent to 3 out of the 15 seats. The Securities and Exchange Commission, however, has allowed brokers to exceed the limit, but subject to a penalty of P500 a day.

PSE President Lim said in the press conference that they are going to elevate the SRC provision on brokers ownership limitation issue to the Supreme Court.

Challenging year

The local capital markets are facing a challenging year as the global financial crisis continues to affect confidence in the equities markets. Sicat noted that dampened confidence is the biggest obstacle for the bourse in the coming months.

"The bigger challenge for the PSE moving forward is creating the environment that we have better liquidity in the system. When you take a look at the Philippines, we're a very small market in terms of market capitalization. We will try to improve the market in terms of liquidity and the regulatory framework in which we operate," he said.

Among the items on the PSE's agenda this year are introducing new products like Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) into the bourse, amending the bourse's SRPs, and constructing the PSE's new headquarters in Fort Bonifatio, Taguig.

The bourse is also studying more partnerships with other bourses abroad.

"Clearly we want to be a world class exchange, and with that comes a lot of work, a lot of responsibility, and most importantly, a lot of benchmarking. There is clearly a global trend in having cross ownership and partnership with other exchanges," the new PSE chair said.