MANILA - The Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Co. won its second Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) Best Annual Report Award yesterday, as organizers chastised companies who did not take their financial reporting duties seriously.

Three Ayala firms made it to the top 5, led by last year’s winner east zone water concessionaire Manila Water Co., Cebu Holdings, Inc., and Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) rounded out the top 5.

The seventh edition of the awarding ceremony, which recognized companies that have exhibited the best effort to be transparent in their financial reports, covered 2008 financial statements.

The Ayala and Aboitiz group of companies were also cited for having three or more companies in the top 20. Forty-six companies out of the more than 240 publicly listed companies qualified for the awards.

In his opening remarks, MAP President Joey A. Bermudez encouraged more companies to improve their annual reports as these could attract investors.

“These are tools of transparency ... the earlier companies make use of these, the earlier they would be rewarded by investors,” he said.

Mr. Bermudez had harsh words for companies that did not take their annual reports seriously, comparing them to mushroom growers whose produce is kept in the dark and covered with manure.

Francis Ed. Lim, president of the Philippine Stock Exchange, agreed that companies would do well to improve their annual reports, as these serve as a barometer of corporate behavior.

“Corporate governance is becoming a popular standard especially for foreign investors. We should do a lot to measure up to them,” he said.

Celso P. Vivas, chairman of the MAP annual reports award committee, said there has been a marked improvement in corporate governance compliance since the awards started in 2002.

With the race to the top getting tighter, the award committee decided to give extra points for items that are not usually included in annual reports, such as a compliance officer report, sustainability and environmental information, the number of independent directors beyond legal requirements, and sufficiency of established communication channels with all stakeholders.

PLDT, which first topped the tilt 4 years ago, and Cebu Holdings were named best in compliance with Philippine Financial Reporting Standards and corporate governance disclosures, respectively, among non-financial institutions. PSBank won both award for financial companies.

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