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

DATE : 08 APRIL 2021

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.

1
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

08 April 2021.