Nomination of Private Sector Representative to the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council

  1. Background

Republic Act No. 10693, An Act Strengthening Nongovernment Organizations Engaged in Microfinance, provides that the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council (MNRC) shall be composed of four (4) permanent members from the government sector and three (3) members from the Microfinance NGO sector: The permanent members of the Council shall be composed of the following:

  1. The Chairman of the SEC or designated representative as the Chairman of the Council;
  2. The Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or designated representative;
  3. The Secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF) or designated representative; and
  4. The Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or designated representative;

The three (3) representatives from the Microfinance NGO Sector shall be chosen by at least a majority of the permanent members of the Council from among the nominees of organizations, associations, and alliances of Microfinance NGOs duly registered with the SEC.

On December 14, 2020, the SEC posted a notice indicating the nomination of a private sector representative who will replace one (1) incumbent private sector representative because of his retirement as an officer of the Microfinance NGO he is affiliated with.

Incumbent representatives are: Fr. Jose Victor Lobrigo and Atty. Ibarra Malonzo – Mindanao.

As a network composed primarily of microfinance NGOs, the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. (MCPI) is entitled to submit a list of nominees for the allotted positions. The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of R.A. No. 10693 specified that each organization, association or alliance shall have a Nominations and Elections Committee (Nomelec), which shall be responsible for the nominations.

The following set of rules and guidelines shall govern the conduct of the nomination and selection of the prospective members of the MNRC.

  1. Designating the MCPI Secretariat as the Nominations and Elections Committee (Nomelec)

The MCPI Secretariat is hereby designated as the Nominations and Elections Committee (Nomelec), as authorized by the MCPI Board of Trustees. The Committee is responsible for, amongst other things, the facilitation of the nomination and recommendation of MCPI-endorsed candidates for appointment to the MNRC. It shall oversee the process governing the election of the nominees to the Council.

  1. Qualification of the Nominees

The representatives to be chosen shall have the following minimum qualifications:

  1. Citizen and resident of the Philippines for at least two (2) years immediately prior to their nomination;
  2. With at least five (5) years experience as a Trustee, President or Officer of a Microfinance NGO; and a recognized and well-respected leader and/or practitioner in the Philippine microfinance sector;
  3. No record of final conviction for an offense involving theft, fraud, falsification, forgery, perjury or any administrative offense or crime involving moral turpitude; and
  4. A person of known probity, integrity and good moral character.

The nominee to be appointed as MF NGO Sector Representative is expected to have the following skills and proficiencies:

  • Must possess knowledge, experience, and understanding of regulatory systems, inter-agency decision-making processes and procedures
  • In-depth understanding of and personal commitment to social performance principles and standards,
  • In-depth knowledge of microfinance, financial inclusion, and poverty-related issues
  • Strong leadership and management skills
  • Diplomatic with policy and strategic skills; ability to act as an ambassador/advocate and to represent the microfinance NGO sector in policy circles
  • Must possess the organizational capacities (i.e. time and resources) to  perform the required tasks and responsibilities associated with the position even without monetary compensation from the MNRC.
  • Must have the full-backing and support of its own organisation and an explicit written guarantee from this organisation that he/she will be allowed to prioritize work as the MF NGO Sector Representative during his/her functioning period as such.
  1. Nomination Procedures

The Nomelec followed these steps in nominating the MCPI private sector representative:

  1. Upon review of the nominations procedures conducted by MCPI in October-November 2019 to nominate private sector representatives to the MNRC for 2020-2023, the Nomelec recommended to the MCPI Board the automatic nomination of the candidate who received the next highest votes in the nomination process conducted by MCPI in October-November 2019, but was not selected by the MNRC.
  2. The candidate who received the next highest vote is Mr. Eduardo C. Jimenez with the following tally in 2019:
    1. Fr. Jose Victor Lobrigo, SEDP-Simbag sa Pag-asenso,
    Inc.  
    27 votes
    2. Mr. Eduardo Jimenez, Kabalikat para sa Maunlad na Buhay,
    Inc.
    24 votes
    3. Atty. Ibarra Malonzo, Kasanyangan Center for Community
    Development and Microfinance Foundation, Inc.
    22 votes
    4. Atty. Leo Montalban Zaragoza, Serviamus Foundation, Inc.15 votes
  1. All MCPI Board provided their approval on the automatic nomination of Mr. Jimenez through email from January 5-6, 2021.
  2. The Nomelec informed Mr. Jimenez of his nomination.
  3. Mr. Jimenez formally accepted the nomination.
  4. The Nomelec informed the MCPI Board of the acceptance of Mr. Jimenez of his nomination.
  1. Submission of the Official MCPI-Endorsed Nominees to the MNRC

The Nomelec shall submit to the MNRC the official MCPI-endorsed nominee no later than January 22, 2021, for consideration. The MCPI Executive Director shall certify under oath that the name submitted, together with their respective Curriculum Vitae (CV), are true and correct and that they were nominated in accordance with MCPI’s Nomelec rules and procedures, as approved by the Board of Trustees.