By Victor C. Agustin

SGV yesterday fired vice chairman Roman Felipe Reyes and 13 partners for refusing to sign the “Integral Agreement” that Ernst & Young had asked SGV to commit to as a condition for continuing their partnership.

Reyes himself confirmed the mass dismissal, but refused to elaborate.

An SGV spokesman disputed Reyes’ account, saying the 14 partners had written SGV managing partner Cirilo Noel earlier in the week giving notice of their simultaneous withdrawal from the partnership effective March 1.

The departure of 14 out of the 84 partners came two weeks after the country’s largest auditing firm ousted managing partner David Balangue for the same reason.

The other partners leaving along with Reyes, according to an SGV partner who asked not to be identified, include Picpa president Protacio Tacondong, Mildred Ramos, Feliza Peralta, Betty Siy-Yap, Melinda Gonzales-Manto, Emmanuel Clarino, Rafael Vinzon, Joel Tan-Torres, Belinda Fernando, Bennette Daplas Bachoco, Haydee Reyes, Carolina Angeles, and Marilou Bartolome.

The departure of the 14 partners culminated two weeks of negotiations, with no less than the Ernst & Young Hong Kong office overseeing the talks over the size and conditions of their exit package.

A major sticking point in the exit package was the one-year “no compete” clause, which prohibits the 14 from joining other auditing firms.

News of the partnership turmoil within the 63-year-old firm at the height of the audit season had already prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to ask SGV to explain.

“The firm is... instructed to disclose to the Commission any developments or issues arising from the implementation of the integration—including any change in the firm’s organizational structure or management—within five days from such occurrence or event,” wrote Ma. Gracia Casals-Diaz, acting chief of the SEC Office of the General Accountant, in a Feb. 13 letter to SGV.