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The Board shall be committed to respect the following rights of
the stockholders:
1. Voting Right
Shareholders have the right to elect, remove and replace directors
and vote on certain corporate acts in accordance with the Corporation
Code.
The Code mandates the use of cumulative voting in the election
of directors. Although directors may be removed with or without
cause, the Code prohibits removal without cause if it will deny
minority shareholders representation in the Board. Removal of directors
requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the outstanding capital.
2. Pre-emptive Right
All stockholders have pre-emptive rights, unless there is a specific
denial of this right in the articles of incorporation or an amendment
thereto. They shall have the right to subscribe to the capital stock
of the corporation. The Articles of Incorporation may lay down the
specific rights and powers of shareholders with respect to the particular
shares they hold, all of which are protected by law so long as they
are not in conflict with the Corporation Code.
3. Power of Inspection
The Corporation Code mandates corporations to allow shareholders
to inspect corporate books and records including minutes of Board
meetings and stock registries in accordance with the Corporation
Code and to provide them an annual report, including financial statements,
without cost or restrictions.
4. Right to Information
The Shareholders shall be provided, upon request, with periodic
reports which disclose personal and professional information about
the directors and officers and certain other matters such as their
holdings of the company's shares, dealings with the company, relationships
among directors and key officers, and the aggregate compensation
of directors and officers. The Information Statement/Proxy Statement
where these are found must be distributed to the shareholders before
annual general meetings and in the Registration Statement and Prospectus
in case of registration of shares for public offering with the Commission.
The minority shareholders should be granted the right to propose
the holding of a meeting, and the right to propose items in the
agenda of the meeting, provided the items are for legitimate business
purposes.
The minority shareholders should have access to any and all information
relating to matters for which the management is accountable for
and to those relating to matters for which the management should
include such information and, if not included, then the minority
shareholders can propose to include such matters in the agenda of
stockholders' meeting, being within the definition of "legitimate
purposes".
5. Right to Dividends
Shareholders have the right to receive dividends subject to the
discretion of the Board. However, the Commission may direct the
corporation to declare dividends when its retained earnings is in
excess of 100% of its paid-in capital stock, except: a) when justified
by definite corporate expansion projects or programs approved by
the Board or b) when the corporation is prohibited under any loan
agreement with any financial institution or creditor, whether local
or foreign, from declaring dividends without its consent, and such
consent has not been secured; or c) when it can be clearly shown
that such retention is necessary under special circumstances obtaining
in the corporation, such as when there is a need for special reserve
for probable contingencies.
6. Appraisal Right
The Corporation Code allows the exercise of the shareholders' appraisal
rights under the following circumstances:
a. In case any amendment to the articles of incorporation has the
effect of changing or restricting the rights of any stockholders
or class of shares, or of authorizing preferences in any respect
superior to those of outstanding shares of any class, or of extending
or shortening the term of corporate existence;
b. In case of sale, lease, exchange, transfer, mortgage, pledge
or other disposition of all or substantially all of the corporate
property and assets as provided in the Corporation Code; and
c. In case of merger or consolidation, it is the duty of the directors
to promote shareholder rights, remove impediments to the exercise
of shareholders rights and allow possibilities to seek redress for
violation of their rights. They shall encourage the exercise of
shareholders' voting rights and the solution of collective action
problems through appropriate mechanisms. They shall be instrumental
in removing excessive costs and other administrative or practical
impediments to shareholders participating in meetings and/or voting
in person. The directors shall pave the way for the electronic filing
and distribution of shareholder information necessary to make informed
decisions subject to legal constraints.
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