(UPDATE) LAWYER Hubert Dominic Guevara, who left Malacañang to return to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month, passed away early on March 29 at the age of 56.

Guevara, who previously served as senior deputy executive secretary under the Office of the President, was appointed as SEC commissioner effective March 1, replacing Kelvin Lester Lee who oversaw the markets and securities regulation department.

Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Dominic Guevara. PHOTO FROM PIA

His appointment brought him back to the SEC more than a decade after having served as director of the agency's former Compliance and Enforcement Department, which is now known as the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department.

Guevara was a former managing partner at Joaquin Guevara Adarlo & Caoile Law Offices. He also taught at private learning institutions, the corporate regulator said.

He completed his bachelor's degree in legal management at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he also earned his law degree.

During Guevara's appointment as one of the four commissioners, SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino praised him for his "decades of experience in the executive branch and in the private practice of law."