The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has signed a data sharing agreement with the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) to provide access to beneficial ownership information on SEC-registered corporations, supporting efforts to combat illicit financial flows in public procurement. The arrangement is intended to enable real-time risk assessments by integrating beneficial ownership data into procurement systems. Signed in a UN Office on Drugs and Crime supported ceremony on March 14 at the SEC headquarters in Makati City, the agreement is positioned to help procurement authorities scrutinize contracts, detect conflicts of interest, and strengthen due diligence. The SEC noted it has entered into similar data-sharing arrangements with 21 other law enforcement agencies and competent authorities, aligning with Financial Action Task Force recommendations and following the Philippines’ exit from the FATF grey list in February. Companies are required to declare beneficial owners in their general information sheet filed with the SEC, with penalties applying for non-disclosure and false disclosure.