Commissioner Karlo S. Bello is a lawyer with extensive experience in government affairs and public policy. He took his oath of office as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 27 August 2019.
Atty. Bello previously served as undersecretary for field operations and policy, planning and research at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the lead government agency ensuring the equitable distribution and cultivation of agricultural lands in the country.

At the DAR, Atty. Bello was designated as ex-officio member of the DAR Adjudication Board; chairperson of the Policy Review and Formulation Committee; vice-chairperson of the National Task Force on Land Inventory; vice-chairperson of the Technical Review Committee for the Project Beneficiaries Development/ Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Support Program Monitoring and Evaluation System; and member of the Agrarian Law Implementation Rules Consolidation Team.

He was also the chairperson of the special team that represented the DAR in the InterAgency Task Force in the Formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order No. 75, Series of 2019, which directs the identification of lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for agriculture for distribution to qualified beneficiaries.

In addition, he was designated as the department’s permanent and alternate representative to and as an action officer of the Task Force Bangon Marawi; chairperson of Task Force Agrarian Reform Boracay Island; vice-chairperson of Task Force Negros Oriental; and chairperson of the special task force constituted to address the Hacienda Nene incident in 2018.

Atty. Bello also served as councilor in Davao City for three terms from 2007 to 2016, becoming acting vice mayor and acting mayor in several occasions. As councilor, he was the president pro tempore and chairperson of the standing committees on Finance, Ways and Means and Appropriations, and Civil Political and Human Rights; and vice-chairperson of the committees on Youth and Sports, Labor and Employment Opportunities, City-owned Real Properties, Peace and Public Safety, and Ethics and Good Government.

Prior to joining the government, Atty. Bello engaged in private law practice. He is a founding partner at Tiongco Siao Bello & Associates, a full-service law firm based in Ortigas Center, Pasig City with branches in Cebu City and Davao City. He left the law firm following his appointment to the DAR.

Atty. Bello graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2000. He then earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo Law School in 2005. He would specialize in administrative law, after his admission to the Philippine Bar in 2007.