The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Davao Extension Office has urged all non-profit organizations (NPOs) to submit their Mandatory Disclosure Form (MDF) immediately on or before February 28, or their registration will be revoked.
In a press statement released over the weekend, SEC Davao Extension Office Officer-in-Charge Katrina Jamilla Ponco-Estares said that NPOs must not wait for the deadline as they might either forget it as she emphasized the importance of the MDF to their standing as entities.
Ponco-Estares said, “NPOs must remember that the MDF is an important document that ensures their organizations are not used for unlawful purposes, especially money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Non-compliance may result in revocation of certificate of incorporation.”
To comply, NPOs need to fill out and print the MDF online, and submit one original copy of the signed and notarized printed form together with supporting attachments, if any, as indicated in the Self-Assessment Questionnaire Page to the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department – Anti-Money Laundering Division (EIPD-AMLD) or to the SEC Davao Extension Office at 2F SDC Bldg., Purok 13, Ma-a Road, Davao City.
The new prerequisite is based on the SEC Memorandum Circular No. 25, Series of 2019 or the 2019 Guidelines for the Protection of SEC Registered Non-Profit Organizations from Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Abuse.
These efforts are done to ensure that the money raised by these NPOs are not for unlawful purposes such as the acts mentioned above.
SEC is requiring NPOs to promote transparency, adopt good governance policies, risk based supervision, strong financial management, robust internal and financial controls, and sustained outreach programs.
According to the memo, NPOs are given 60 days to comply with the MDF submission after its publication—hence the deadline is on February 28 since the memo was published last December 27-28, 2019.
NPOs are non-stock entities or organizations including foundations that raise revenues not for profit but for a certain advocacy such as religion, culture, education, or any similar objectives.
In order to function, NPOs must be registered to the SEC or else they are considered illegal.
NPOs that already submitted their MDF as per SEC Memorandum Circular No. 15, Series of 2018 are still encouraged to submit the new MDF.
Aside from that, according to Section 9.3 of the SEC Memorandum Circular No. 25, NPOs registered after the effectivity of the circular need to comply with the requirements within six (6) months from the date of registration.
For more details on the steps on filing, NPOs may refer to the notice posted last January 8 on the SEC website (www.sec.gov.ph), the press statement added.
