Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines (ICCP), the financial advisor for renewable energy firm Alternergy Holdings Corp., asserts that the company’s share sale to the state pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) adhered to all standard due diligence procedures and regulatory requirements.
This statement comes after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered a six-month preventive suspension for GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo Veloso and six other executives in connection with the P1.45 billion investment.
ICCP, which facilitated Alternergy’s initial public offering (IPO) in March 2023 and a subsequent follow-on offering, has consistently reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance in Alternergy’s capital-raising activities.
Manny Ocampo, ICCP president and chief operating officer, said their role was to ensure adherence to “strict regulatory requirements and market practices.”
He added that “all disclosures were made to regulators and investors in accordance with best standards of fairness, transparency, and investor protection.”
IPO ‘met SEC-PSE requirements’
Alternergy’s IPO met the stringent requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), including benchmarks for minimum market capitalization, track record, and profitability.
Following the IPO, ICCP also served as
the sole arranger for a redeemable preferred shares (RPS) offering and its listing on the PSE.
ICCP affirmed that the RPS issuance to GSIS, an institutional investor, was conducted in line with corporate governance standards and existing securities regulations.
Val Bagatsing, ICCP chairman and chief executive officer, emphasized that these transactions “followed strict due diligence and compliance protocols,” ensuring transparency at every stage.
Alternergy also reported to the PSE the payment of the first full annual coupon for the RPS in December 2024.
Ombudsman: Evidence strong
Despite these assurances, the Ombudsman’s order, signed by Samuel Martires on July 15, found “strong evidence showing their guilt” against Veloso and the six other GSIS officials.
Those suspended are executive vice presidents Michael Praxedes and Jason Teng, vice presidents Aaron Samuel Chan and Mary Abigail Cruz-Francisco, Officer II Jaime Leon Warren, and acting officer IV Alfredo Pablo.
The officials are facing administrative charges for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and violation of reasonable office rules and regulations, which could result in their removal from service if found guilty.
The preventive suspension aims to prevent them from influencing an ongoing investigation.
The P1.45 billion investment, made through a private placement in Alternergy’s perpetual preferred shares Series A in November 2023, has drawn scrutiny based on an anonymous complaint.
The complaint alleges that the transaction breached multiple provisions of GSIS’s investment policies, specifically citing that Alternergy’s market capitalization was significantly below the required P15 billion threshold and that the deal may have exceeded the fund’s allowable exposure to a single stock.
It also claimed a lack of proper board-level authorization. The Ombudsman’s investigation further indicated that the investment bypassed required internal approvals.
This incident is part of a broader context of controversial investments linked to Veloso’s tenure, with the Commission on Audit previously flagging other GSIS equity bets for targeting companies with no profit history or dividend payouts, leading to concerns about the pension fund’s actuarial solvency. GSIS has reportedly suffered a P251.37 million valuation loss on these investments.
