SEC chief to appeal ruling

SEC chief to appeal ruling

MANILA (Reuters): The new chief of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday it would appeal this week against a court injunction blocking broader investigations into an alleged share price fixing case.

Lilia Bautista told reporters on her first day as SEC chairperson that the regulatory body was studying ways to overturn the injunction issued by the Court of Appeals last week stopping it from further investigations into share price movements of gaming firm BW Resource Corp.

The injunction stalled the SEC's plan to submit its findings to the justice department, which contained a recommendation for a preliminary investigation as a prelude to criminal proceedings.

SEC documents distributed to reporters on Friday said it had found evidence of share price manipulation by BW's majority shareholder, Dante Tan, a friend of President Joseph Estrada, and four other individuals and recommended further investigations into seven brokerages.