SHARES of Villar Land Holdings Corp. plunged on Monday after the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) weekend announcement that it had filed a criminal complaint against the company and its officials for alleged market manipulation, insider trading and misleading disclosures.
Villar Land opened the day at P700, markedly lower than the P933 close seen last Thursday, and ended up shedding P266, or 28.51 percent, to P677 per share, outpacing the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index’s (PSEi) 0.5-percent dip.
The company told the PSE that it had yet to receive a copy of the SEC complaint and was not aware of any other details other than what the regulator had said on Saturday.
“In view of the foregoing, the company cannot provide any further clarification or disclosure on the matter until we receive a copy of the complaint,” Villar Land Chief Financial Officer Estrellita Tan said in a letter to the PSE.
“The company and its directors are entitled to due process and look forward to receiving a copy of the complaint and responding to the allegations raised by the SEC in the proper form,” she added.
Villar Land is owned by the family of former Senate president Manuel Villar Jr., once the richest man in the country. Villar has been charged along with his wife, former senator Cynthia Villar; their children, Manuel Paolo and sitting senators Mark and Camille; and other individuals.
The SEC complaint focuses on Villar Land’s unaudited 2024 financial statements, which reported a record net income of P999.72 billion — a sharp jump from the previous year’s P1.46 billion — following a P1.33-trillion land revaluation.
The firm’s auditor refused to sign off, and the company ultimately reported a P1.423-billion profit for the year.
The SEC also cited alleged price manipulation by related firms Infra Holdings Corp. and MGS Construction, as well as insider trading involving Camille Villar.
SEC Chairman Francis Lim said the filing of the complaint before the Department of Justice was part of a broader effort to safeguard market integrity.
“Building investor confidence in the Philippines is crucial in driving the inclusive and sustainable growth of our capital market and business sector for national development,” he said.
“In this light, the SEC is firm in addressing fraudulent and manipulative acts that mislead the investing public and distort our capital markets.”
Reports on Monday quoted Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon as saying that the DOJ was still evaluating the SEC complaint.
