IC allows public access to financial documents

MANILA, Philippines — Financial documents submitted by insurance firms, pre-need companies and health maintenance organizations to the Insurance Commission are open to public scrutiny, the agency’s top official said.

Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said financial documents submitted to the IC are considered as public documents and are available to the public upon request, subject to certain exceptions.

According to Funa, it is important to give the public access to the documents of IC-regulated entities to help them make decisions when availing financial products.

“Availability of financial documents of IC-regulated entities is vital as these documents reflect important information to aid the stakeholders in arriving at informed decisions,” Funa said.

“Considering that financial documents, particularly the audited financial statements, embody the principles of accuracy and transparency, the availability of these documents to the public could help enhance the public’s confidence in the entire financial system,” he added.

Under the new guidelines, audited financial statements of IC-regulated entities are available to the public, except when verification of the audited financial statements has yet to be completed by the IC, or when a concerned company disputes or seeks reconsideration of the verification.

Annual statements should likewise be made available to the public, except when they have no synopsis approved by the IC in accordance with the Insurance Code and Pre-Need Code of the Philippines.

Unaudited, interim or quarterly financial statements are also considered as public documents but will be accordingly marked as unofficial and unverified.

However, Funa clarified that documents submitted as attachments or reportorial requirements which were primarily obtained from other government agencies, such as the general information sheet and income tax return, should be requested from concerned agencies and not the IC.

“The new guidelines were issued to implement the Freedom of Information Manual of the IC and to clarify the financial documents of IC-regulated entities which are available for public consumption,” Funa said.

He said the manual was made in compliance with Executive Order 2 which provides the guidelines for the full public disclosure of all government transactions involving public interest.

Pursuant to the IC Freedom of Information Manual, all requests for information must be made in writing, stating the name and contact information of the requesting party, and should reasonably describe the information requested and the purpose of the request.