29/03/2026
"The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently ordered the Vibal sisters, who own majority shares in Vibal Group Inc., and former finance officers of the company, to explain alleged ghost transactions amounting to billions of pesos, corporate fraud, falsification of records and breach of fiduciary duty. Vibal is one of the country’s oldest and biggest publishing houses.
What makes the case instructive for corporate governance observers is not the specific family dynamics involved, but how internal financial controls can allegedly be circumvented when those overseeing the controls are also the ones benefiting from their absence.
The SEC’s order to comment is not a finding of guilt. It is just the beginning of a process. What is noteworthy, though, is the willingness of the regulator to examine the conduct even of majority shareholders." -Mary Ann LL Reyes, "Hidden Agenda"
The huge role of the agri-food system in our economy is beyond dispute.