A House lawmaker on Thursday called out Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Francis Lim for making ‘bombastic statements based on wrong information’ after he claimed in a public forum that P1.7 trillion in market value was wiped out in just three weeks due to the flood control scandal.
House infrastructure committee chair and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said Lim must explain the source of his claim, ‘as it does not accurately reflect current and historical conditions of the Philippine capital market.’
This came after Lim, during the 57th annual Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) Conference on Oct. 7, claimed that P1.7 trillion in the market value of companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange was wiped out from Aug. 11 to Aug. 29 amid mounting allegations of corruption involving high-ranking officials in government infrastructure projects.
‘Investors aren’t fleeing because of weak fundamentals; they’re fleeing because of weak integrity. It’s a stark reminder that corruption is a weapon of mass wealth destruction. When trust breaks down, capital dries up, and everyone-government, business, and the public-pays the price,’ Lim said. A decline in market value essentially means that the share prices of companies are going down due to investors choosing to sell their stocks.
However, Ridon, a lawyer, said that market data showed the decline in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) began months before the controversy.
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On a six-month view (April 10-October 9), the PSEi had already reached 6,077.82 as early as April 11, 2025, he said.
‘Although a short recovery followed, the broader decline began after July 14, or two weeks before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. exposed the flood control corruption scandal in his State of the Nation Address,’ Ridon said.
Ridon said Lim’s statement ‘appeared even less accurate’ when using a one-year view, noting that the index plunged from a high of 7,456.31 in October to 5,822.85 in April,’ amounting to a 21.9-percent decline three months before the scandal.
These figures, Ridon said, showed that the ongoing corruption scandal ‘was a convenient but inaccurate explanation for the market’s weakness and for the broader slowdown in the economy.’
Separately, Ridon told the Inquirer that regardless of the actual and fake data, ‘the weakening of the stock market is independent of the flood control corruption scandal.’
‘It may have compounded it, but it certainly is not the sole reason for the weakening stock market,’ he added.
On Thursday, Special Adviser to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go also debunked Lim’s claims, saying that the chair was ‘quoting off a confirmed fake news post designed to catch attention and falsely sensationalize.’
‘The attributed source confirmed that this was fake news. The fact is, the drop wasn’t 12 percent. You may confirm this with the Philippine Stock Exchange or your favorite stockbroker,’ Go added.
A previous Inquirer Biz Buzz column last Sept. 5 already debunked a viral post claiming that’Philippines’ Corruption Scandal Triggers P1.7 Trillion Market Meltdown,’ supposedly quoting SandP Global Market Intelligence.