The Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) will be officially recognizing the Top-scoring Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs) in its 2009 Corporate Governance (CG) Scorecard during its 7th Annual Dinner on May 27, 2010 at the Manila Peninsula. 

The CG Scorecard project ranks PLCs according to how they perform relative to a set of corporate governance criteria which includes policies and practices relating to Rights of Shareholders, Equitable Treatment of Shareholders, Role of Stakeholders, Disclosure and Transparency, and Board Responsibilities.  The project aims to raise standards of corporate governance practices not only by ensuring compliance to minimum regulatory requirements but also by encouraging the adoption of recognized best practices in corporate governance.    

“We are very happy with the results as they show continued improvement in compliance and corporate governance practices among our listed companies.  The challenge is to step up the plate, go beyond mere compliance and into governance that delivers performance and breakthrough results.  On this end, the ICD is now working with select CG top-ranked companies on a corporate governance improvement pathway, cultivating a real governance culture within their organizations through a Performance Governance System (PGS),” Dr. Jesus Estanislao, chairman of the ICD said.    

This year’s top scorers are as follows:

Gold Category (95% and above, in alphabetical order):
1.    Ayala Corporation
2.    Ayala Land Corporation
3.    Bank of the Philippine Islands
4.    Cebu Holdings Inc.
5.    Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corporation
6.    Energy Development Corporation
7.    First Gen Corporation
8.    First Philippines Holdings Corporation
9.    Globe Telecom Inc.
10.   Manila Water Company Inc.
11.   Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company

Silver Category (90% to 94%, in alphabetical order):
1. Aboitiz Equity Ventures
2. Aboitiz Power Corporation
3. Aboitiz Transport System Corporation
4. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation
5. Alaska Milk Corporation
6. Benpres Holdings Corporation
7. Centro Escolar University
8. China Banking Corporation
9. GMA Network, Inc.
10. Highlands Prime, Inc.
11. Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation
12. Petron Corporation
13. Philippine Savings Bank
14. Security Bank Corporation
15. Semirara Mining Corporation
16. SM Development Corporation
17. SM Investments Corporation
18. SM Prime Holdings, Inc.
19. UnionBank of the Philippines Inc.

Now on its 5th year, the CG Scorecard project is jointly administered with ICD’s partners  namely the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the Institute of Internal Auditors of the Philippines (IIA-P), the Ateneo Law School and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).  Last year, the ICD expanded the project and launched separate scorecards for banks, government-owned and controlled corporations / government financial institutions, and insurance companies. 

The ICD is primarily an Institute “of, for and by corporate directors” made up mainly of individuals and reputational agents committed to the professional practice of corporate directorship in line with global principles of modern corporate governance.  It conducts a professional directors training program and is accredited by the SEC, the BSP, the IC and the DOF to conduct corporate governance orientation programs. It works with partners in a joint pursuit of systemic corporate governance reforms in the Philippines and the East Asian region.  It is a founding member and permanent secretariat of the Institute of Directors in East Asia Network (IDEA.net) composed of representatives from Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia.