At the Senate hearing on pre-need firms, former Legacy executive Carolina Hinola accused SEC Commissioner Jesus Enrique Martinez of covering up Legacy’s financial problems after accepting gifts from Legacy, including a 5-million-peso house and lot and a 1.5-million Ford Expedition from Legacy head Celso de Los Angeles.

Insiders also claimed that Martinez tried to broker the sale of Danvil Plans to the Legacy Group. The sale did not push through after Danvil Plans backed out of the deal allegedly upon the advice of other top pre-need executives.

(Martinez died on May 6 due to colon cancer complications.)

April 21

SEC has canceled the license of Prudentialife Plans Inc. to sell preneed plans because of its trust fund deficiency.

Prudentialife however said that its estimated trust fund of 12 billion pesos is enough to cover its obligations to about 400,000 planholders.

Prudentialife said it is still allowed to sell their other products like life insurance, health plans and mutual funds. Prudentialife President Jose Alberto Alba insisted that his firm will survive the crisis because of its 31-year history of strong performance, including survival of the CAP collapse and the 1997-1998 crisis.

April 22

Permanent Plans or Permaplans has decided to stop its operations  because of trust fund losses in 2008.  In response, SEC canceled Permaplans’ license. Permaplans said it will pay all its planholders (about 10,800) in the form of cash and other types of assets in the next 4 to 6 months.

April 27

Paranaque Representative Roilo Golez condemned CAP for giving only about 400 pesos per sem to most of about 700,000 CAP planholders under a court rehabilitation program.

Chit Baita, head of a group of CAP planholders, questioned court-appointed receiver Mamerto Marcelo for allowing CAP to sell its MRT III bonds and use the proceeds to pay off other firms owned by CAP owners, the Sobrepenas, instead of using the money to pay planholders.

May 1

CAP responded to the report that it is giving out only 400 to 500 pesos per sem to planholders by announcing that it has paid over 220 million to planholders since 2007 and that it is following court-approved schedules for paying planholders in installments up to 2011 and then full payments starting 2012.

CAP instructed planholders to check its list of 147,000 planholders on its website www.cap.com.ph for 334,000 checks ready for release.

May 1

Investigators said fraudulent schemes and fund diversions led to the collapse of Legacy’s banks and pre-need firms. Legacy’s pre-need firms owe about 1.3 billion pesos to its estimated 50,000 pre-need planholders, including more than 12,000 soldiers and police officers who have paid over 320 million pesos through monthly salary deductions by the AFPSLAI.

May 6

Coco Plans said it has 1.4 billion in its trust fund and it is able to cover maturing policies within the next 9 years, according to Coco Plans president

Caesar Michelena. He said the deficiency of 190 million will be covered within 3 years under a program submitted to the SEC.

May 7

The SEC announced that three preneed firms — Coco Plans, AMA Plans and Danvil Plans — had trust fund deficiencies. Coco Plans and Danvil Plans have

already submitted their plans on how they can restore their trust funds to adequate levels.

May 7

Caesar Michelena, president of Coco Plans and  newly-elected head of the Philippine Federation of Pre-need Plan Companies, expressed his hope that no more pre-need company will shut down.

Previous PFPPC President Juan Miguel Vasquez resigned after his firm Permanent Plans decided to cease operations.

May 7

Some Permanent Plans planholders complained at the Senate hearing that Permaplans is offering a 60/40 payment scheme — 40 percent of their maturity value in cash and 60 percent in food and health supplies and lots at a burial site in Payatas.

In a statement made on April 22, Permanent Plans President Juan Miguel Vazquez reiterated that the contracts held by Permaplans planholders allow the company to change the mode of settlement or payment of plans.

May 7

PDIC President Jose Nograles revealed at the Senate hearing that there are still more than 35,000 unclaimed bank accounts under the failed Legacy Group. Senator Mar Roxas asked PDIC to inform the depositors through the mail.

May 12

President Arroyo ordered SEC Chair Fe Barin to determine the financial condition of the preneed firms to ensure that they can meet their obligations

as the plans mature. Arroyo demanded that criminal prosecution be taken against erring firms.

May 13

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said there are loopholes in the law of receivership, allowing failed pre-need firms and other businesses such as condo developers to walk away from their obligations.

May 14

Coco Plans announced that it has paid all its obligations to all its educational planholders this school year.

May 17

The SEC assured pre-need planholders that the 22 licensed preneed firms, including Danvil Plans, are financially stable enough to pay their obligations to their planholders. SEC said it has reviewed the financial records of the pre-need firms.

The 22 pre-need firms with licenses to sell plans this year include AMA Plans, Ayala Plans, Caritas Financial Plans, CityPlans, Cocoplans, Danvil Plans, Destiny Financial Plans, Eternal Plans, First Country Plans, First Union Plans, Grayline Plans, Himlayang Pilipino Plans, Loyola Plans Consolidated, Manulife Financial Plans, Mercantile Careplans, Paz Memorial Service, Philam Plans, Provident Plans International, St. Peter Life Plan, Sun Life Financial Plans, Transnational Plans and Trusteeship Plans.

May 19

About 525,000 educational planholders have been trying to get money for their children’s enrolment this school year from 5 failed pre-need firms: CAP, Pet Plans, Platinum Plans, Pacific Plans and TPG Corp.

Meanwhile, Pryce Plans, still solvent but low on cash because it invested in real estate, memorial lots and listed equities, has been issuing checks in queues and paying in kind to consenting planholders.

May 27

President Macapagal-Arroyo returned the SEC under the supervision of DTI, nine years after she placed SEC under DOF. Observers said the transfer was caused by SEC’s failure to prevent the collapse of preneed companies owned by Legacy.

May 29

SEC has required pre-need firms to increase the percentages of their trust fund deposits.  For every peso paid by a pension and education planholder during the first year, the pre-need firm must deposit 70 cents, a big increase from the previous 5-cent requirement.  This requirement will apply only to new plans. Required increases percentages for other plans were also issued.

Above notes were gleaned from various articles and videos published on Inquirer.Net and GMANews.TV.

According to Nikko Dizon in the April 4, 2009 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

• All 17 members of the Highway Patrol Group involved in the so-called Paranaque shooting last December 5 attended the Commission on Human Rights’ hearing on April 3.
• All didn’t testify; they invoked their right to remain silent.
• Two witnesses affirmed the testimony of one witness in the January hearing that only police operatives were in the area when the shooting happened.
• These two witnesses also disputed the claim that robbers in a Revo van shot the De Veras.
• One witness said he saw men wearing vests with the Regional Special Action Force letters.
• Another witness testified he heard the police operatives saying they had killed the driver of the vehicle, who later turned out to be Lilian’s husband Alfonso

Cops in shootout invoke right to stay silent

Nikko Dizon

Philippine Daily Inquirer

The following is a copy of an email written by Lilia De Vera, whose husband Alfonso and 7-year-old daughter were killed in a shootout involving  NCRPO police officers on the night of December 5, 2008 in United Paranaque Subdivision 4:

Two months ago I considered myself as one of those blessed and happiest
people on earth. Why not? I married a guy who was an epitome of kindness. A guy who worshipped even the footsteps I made. More importantly, our union blessed us with a daughter who not only became the main source of our happiness. More so, she was the center of our lives.

We’re simple folks who led a simple life. We felt the happiest even about
mundane things and inconsequential ones that most people would only take
for granted. Our joy mostly revolved on simple pleasures like a sudden trip
to Jollibee or a late night marauding of the fridge for any leftovers. A perfect family with simple delights, dreams and aspirations… until that
fateful night on December 5, 2008. The day my husband and daughter were
taken away from me in a very violent way. That Friday night on December 5,
2008 marked the beginning of all the terror, anguish and misery in my life.

In keeping with my ritual or “panata” on every first Friday of every month,
I went to Quiapo Church on the above mentioned date to pay homage and
respect to the Almighty One. My husband and daughter were supposed to pick me up in Pasay City after which we planned on giving our daughter a treat to Jollibee. While riding the jeep, I tried to call my husband to tell him
that I was on my way to our meeting place. But despite all the calls I
made, my husband remained silent. A very unusual occurrence inasmuch as he seldom missed my calls. Despite my trepidation and wonder, I took the next jeep going home and prayed that everything was alright. I even promised to myself that I would forgive my husband for not answering my calls and for forgetting to pick me up.

I felt relieved when near our place my phone rung. Such relief was somehow
only momentary? In fact the phone call I got was the bearer of the worst
news in my entire life.  My helper called, only to tell me that my husband
and daughter were shot to death by “men in uniform”. The same men who were sworned to protect innocent people from bad guys brutally slew the two most important persons in my life. They were the same men whose sacred duty was to preserve the lives of the public against all harm and danger. Yet?? they were the same men who murdered my love ones in the most cruel, savage and inhuman way.

My husband’s face was unrecognizable because he was shot in the head at
close range while he was kneeling with his head bowed down. My daughter’s young body was riddled with bullets, one hit her head, blowing her brains out, all from too powerful guns and ammunitions fired by the “men in uniform” on two innocent and defenseless persons.

The “men in uniform” were allegedly on a mission to take some gang of
robbers victimizing people at large. The police shot the Crosswind van my
husband and daughter were riding.  Based on some witnesses’ narration, the
police sprayed bullets into the van despite the lack of provocation or
shots coming from the  van. In his last effort to save their lives, my
husband grabbed my bloodied daughter and shielded her with his body while trying to run away from the police and tried to get cover from a parked
jeepney. My husband and daughter were so defenseless. How can you mistake a child for a robber? How can you shot at someone who was already kneeling with head bowed, an indication of helplessness.

My husband and daughter are gone…forever. The pain I feel for their loss is too much too bear. And the only thing that motivates me to go on with
life is the mission to seek justice for their senseless killing. If the
people who are responsible for their death will be punished, if I could
bring them the justice they so richly deserve, my pain would be alleviated.
The misery I will live by will be lessened. My husband and daughter will be
vindicated and I will learn to live the remaining years of my life in
peace.

Thus, I’m asking and begging everyone who will come across this
letter/e-mail to forward the same to all your relatives, friends, and
acquaintances.  Help me bring my cause to the eyes of the people capable of
steering the wheel of justice to the right direction. Help me make the
loudest cry worthy of attention by those people in-charge in rendering
justice to those who deserve it.

Strength comes in numbers; it is where the impossible becomes possible. It
is also where the unattainable becomes achievable.

My heartfelt gratitude for everyone who will take a moment in their too
busy lives and forward this letter/e-mail to everyone they know. May God
always protect you and your love ones from all harm.

Lilian de Vera

Update on From Lilian de Vera (victim of the Paranaque shooting incident)