MANILA, Philippines, June 6, 2011 – Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) recently received the Platinum Award at the 2010 Corporate Governance Scorecard for Publicly-Listed Companies, an annual project of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).
 
According to the ICD, the Platinum Award is given to companies that have consistently earned gold awards or a rating of 95% or higher for three consecutive years. “Platinum awardees carry the distinction of being the very best companies in terms of corporate governance compliance and which we believe are very well disposed to move beyond compliance and into higher levels of CG standards and practices observed globally,” ICD Chairman Jesus P. Estanislao said.

The ICD awards are based on an annual CG Scorecard that assesses publicly-listed companies (PLCs) according to their corporate governance practices in five categories, namely, shareholder rights, equitable treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and board responsibility.

“This platinum award is the result of the collective efforts of the PLDT Board, management, and employees who have steadfastly observed our core values of accountability, integrity, fairness, and transparency,” said PLDT Chief Governance Officer Ma. Lourdes C. Rausa-Chan.

“We hope to maintain PLDT’s eminence in corporate governance as we strive to further elevate and align our corporate governance policies and practices with the best global standards,” she added.

The ICD is a professional organization committed to the professional practice of corporate directorship that is consistent with global principles of modern corporate governance.

Now on its sixth year, the CG Scorecard Program was developed to promote transparency and accountability and the general practice of good corporate governance among PLCs, and to promote a standard method for measurement, ranking, and progress tracking of CG practices.

The program is conducted by the ICD in partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Stock Exchange, Institute of Internal Auditors of the Philippines, and the Ateneo College of Law.