The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Monday it recently opened a new office in Butuan City to support the support business formation amid rising economic growth in Mindanao.
The new office, which is envisioned to make doing business easier for entrepreneurs in the region, is located at the JC Aquino Training Center along JC Aquino Ave. in Barangay Libertad, Butuan City.
It said the SEC Butuan Extension Office would serve the Caraga Administrative Region, which is among the country’s fastest-growing regions.
Caraga recorded a gross regional domestic product of more than P320 billion in 2022. Some 7,158 registered corporations and partnerships were based in Caraga as of December 2023, which were previously under the jurisdiction of the SEC Cagayan de Oro Extension Office.
The SEC said the establishment of the SEC Butuan Extension Office was requested by the Regional Development Council of the Caraga Region, in line with improving bureaucratic and regulatory efficiency as per the Caraga Regional Development Plan, and by Agusan del Norte First District Rep. Jose S. Aquino II.
“Choosing Butuan as the newest location for our extension office was an easy decision to make, as the high number of business name registrations in the area shows its potential to become a thriving business hub in the future,” SEC chairman Emilio Aquino said.
“The SEC seeks to support this potential by creating an enabling environment that will make doing business easier for entrepreneurs in the region, through the services provided by the SEC Butuan Extension Office,” he said.
The extension office is also aligned with the SEC’s mandate to ensure the efficient delivery of public services and effective enforcement of laws concerning the capital market, financing and lending companies, and the overall corporate sector.
It is the 11th extension office, established less than a year after the SEC Tacloban Extension Office opened in May 2023. The SEC also operates extension offices in Baguio, Tarlac, Legazpi, Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Zamboanga, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.