Never through coercion or intimidation

Since Day One, this administration has been trying to kick out Perfecto Yasay from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its problem is that Yasay has a fixed tenure of seven years that will end in 2004. The Ombudsman, whose office is often perceived to do the bidding of whoever is in power, got Yasay out of the way for a couple of months by suspending him for something that wasn't even related to the SEC chairman's job.

Yasay's troubles resumed soon after his suspension was lifted. There was an unusual increase in the share price of a new property and gaming firm of a presidential friend. There were rumors of stock manipulation and insider trading involving some influential persons -- bad news in a region that is trying to rebuild its stock markets' credibility and attract investors. The Philippine Stock Exchange launched an investigation, but Yasay griped about the slow pace of the probe. In the end, both the PSE and the SEC's preliminary findings pointed to only one major player behind the heavy trading of the controversial stocks.

Last Nov. 17, Yasay received a memorandum from Malacañang, ordering him to clear with the Office of the President all public statements and policy declarations on the stock market. While the memorandum was widely seen as a gag order, Yasay denied that President Estrada had ordered him to "whitewash" the results of the probe on the wild run of the shares.

Now the President not only wants Yasay to shut up but to resign. The President fumed yesterday that Yasay had already promised to quit and had no word of honor. Yasay denied making the promise and reminded the President that the SEC is supposed to be an independent quasi-judicial body that must perform its functions without political interference. Yasay, however, promised the President in a letter dated Jan. 11 that he would allow the Chief Executive to pick a new SEC chairman as soon as the Securities Act of 1999, which the Senate has passed, is signed into law.

If Malacañang simply wants stability in the market, the pressure to kick Yasay out is having the opposite effect. The market's drop yesterday was attributed partly to Yasay's woes. Even PSE president Jose Luis Yulo, who has no love lost for Yasay, expressed support yesterday for the embattled SEC chief, saying there are laws and procedures to follow. The SEC chairman, Yulo emphasized, can never be removed through coercion and intimidation. Let's hope no one tells Yulo to shut up. If this administration wants a stronger market, it should heed Yulo's advice.