MANILA - Amid reports that the local bourse’s board and some members of management are not in good terms, the Philippine Stock Exchange's second highest management official is leaving at the end of this month.

Roy Joseph Rafols, PSE's chief operating officer (COO), and second-in-command to president and chief executive officer Francis Lim, is the third high-level personnel of the exchange to leave this year.

On Tuesday, auditing industry stalwart Conchita Manabat, who chaired the board-level Management Integrity Board, resigned.

About 2 or 3 months ago, Pete Malabanan, who headed the Disclosure Department, retired.

Malabanan reported to Rafols, who’s the concurrent head of the Issuer Regulation Division (IRD).

Sometime in January this year, Malabanan and Rafols were reported to have offered to resign their posts after they had a brush with some members of the PSE board.

PSE’s Lim was reported to have prevailed on the 2 to stay.

After Rafols, more resignations are expected at the exchange, industry sources said.

Term expiry

In a phone interview, Lim said Rafol’s departure is due to the expiration of his 2 year-term at the end of the month.

Rafols was initially recruited by Lim in March 19, 2007 to head the IRD, which oversees the listing of companies at the local exchange.

Rafols was promoted to the COO position on October 2007, which was the start of his 2-year contract.

Lim dismissed reports that the PSE board had a hand in the non-renewal of Rafol’s contract.
“Don’t read anything into it. We knew at the onset that his term is just for 2 years.”

He said the exchange is not yet eyeing anyone to replace Rafol’s COO role.

As for Rafols’ role at the IRD that will also be vacated, Lim said a replacement is not crucial at the moment since there are few companies that are tapping the stock exchange to raise funds.

No. 2 in the bar

In a phone interview, Rafols declined to expound on the reasons and speculations raised about his departure.

When asked if he would stay if his contract was renewed, his vague answer was, “I don’t know.”

According to PSE’s disclosures, Rafols, 53, “ranked second in the 1984 Philippine bar examinations and is a member of the bar of the state of Connecticut in the US.”

He practiced law with Washington-based law firm Crowell & Moring after obtaining his law masters from Georgetown University, law degree from Ateneo de Manila, and finance degree from De La Salle University.

When he returned to the Philippines, he headed an investment house, became dean of the Palawan State University School of Law, and was senior executive vice president and COO of pension fund Government Service Insurance System.