MANILA - The head of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has down-played the departure of two key officials from the bourse, saying there was nothing unusual with the resignations.

PSE President Francis Ed. Lim said the resignation of Conchita L. Manabat as chairwoman of the Market Integrity Board was "due solely to her other professional commitments as clearly indicated in her resignation letter."

Ms. Manabat, known for her advocacy of capital market reforms, cited the need to limit her multiple roles in several institutions as the reason behind her resignation last Tuesday.

Ms. Manabat’s announcement was followed by the exchange’s notice two days later that it would no longer renew the contract of Roy Joseph M. Rafols, PSE chief operating officer (COO) and head of the issuer regulation division.

"The departure of Attorney Rafols was due to the expiration of his pre-agreed term as COO under his contract with the PSE. It is not in any way connected with broker penalties. The PSE will continue to enforce rules against erring brokers in the usual course of business," Mr. Lim said.

"There is a set of proposed rules for brokers to replace existing rules whose main thrust is to encourage compliance on the part of the brokers. We have already submitted it to the corporate regulator and is just waiting for [its] action on the matter," he added.

Two stock exchange officials threatened to sanction San Miguel Corp. in January over alleged violation of disclosure rules, but were overruled.

Mr. Lim said the exchange was still in the process of looking for replacements for Ms. Manabat and Mr. Rafols. But he had hinted that former Supreme Court associate justice Jose C. Vitug might replace Ms. Manabat.

The retired magistrate used to be chairman and independent director of the PSE.

But other than stressing the point that Mr. Rafols’s exit had nothing to do with broker regulation, Mr. Lim did not say why Mr. Rafols’s contract would no longer be renewed.

Mr. Rafols’s position as head of the issuer regulation division dealt with the listed companies. The issuer regulation division, along with the disclosure department, are responsible for going after listed companies violating disclosure rules.

Lawyer Pete M. Malabanan retired earlier this year from his post as head of the disclosure department. Mr. Malabanan was replaced by Janet A. Encarnacion.

Last Jan. 15, Mr. Malabanan and Mr. Rafols threatened to sanction San Miguel Corp. for violating disclosure rules over a deal to buy a majority stake in Petron Corp.

The move came after San Miguel President Ramon S. Ang was appointed chairman of the oil refiner when the conglomerate has yet to purchase Petron, which raised fears among minority shareholders that San Miguel might be avoiding a tender offer.

The disclosure and the issuer regulation units went to the extent of giving a show-cause letter to the conglomerate, asking for a copy of San Miguel’s contract with Petron.

It also asked the diversifying food and beverage conglomerate to explain why it should not be sanctioned for violating disclosure rules.

The following day however, Mr. Lim told reporters that the exchange had abandoned its demand for a copy of the agreement, asking only specific questions to San Miguel instead.

Mr. Lim then told reporters the show-cause letter had been overridden by the PSE’s board of directors.