Francis Edralin Lim named SEC chair as Aquino’s term expires

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June 3, 2025 | 6:30pm

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has announced lawyer Francis Edralin Lim as the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), replacing incumbent chief Chairman Emilio Aquino. 

At a press briefing on Tuesday, June 3, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced a new batch of Cabinet appointees whose resignations were either accepted or rejected. Marcos had called for the courtesy resignation of all his agency heads in a bid to reorganize his administration following a dismal performance of his senatorial picks in the 2025 midterm polls. 

Bersamin said Lim will replace Aquino, whose term will expire on June 5 and is not reappointed to the post.

“Attorney Lim is a distinguished member of the legal and financial communities. He has an extensive background in corporate and securities law,” Bersamin said. 

Prior to his incoming stint as the new SEC chief, Lim was the president and CEO of the Philippine Stock Exchange. 

He was also trustee and president of the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines, and was the president of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.

Who else is on their way out? 

While Marcos has decided to keep most of his major Cabinet secretaries, the resignations of the following chiefs were accepted by the president:

• Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Meynardo Sabili of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor  
• Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Terence Calatrava
• Presidential Assistant on Muslim Affairs Almarim Tillah 

Presidential Adviser for Special Concerns Meynardo Espineli, meanwhile, has been deemed “terminated.” 

SC, GOCC review ongoing 

Bersamin also said that the review for the government-owned or -controlled corporation  (GOCC) Marcos’ first appointment for the Supreme Court (SC) is ongoing. 

The Governance Commission For GOCCs (GCG) is already tasked with a yearly review of the companies’ chiefs, he explained. 

“We do not know what the GCG is going to recommend, but on our part, as far as the heads of the GOCCs are concerned, we will surely come up with announcements very soon,” Bersamin said. 

Marcos is also set to name his first ever appointment to the Supreme Court. The Judicial and Bar Council has already submitted to the Palace several nominees for associate justice of the high court.