Pero hindi rin ibig sabihin na kapag licensed na ang isang pre-need company ay reputable company na. Malaki pa rin ang risk. Maganda ang maghanda sa pangangailangan natin in the future katulad ng pang-tuition at pang-retirement, pero maging mapanuri pa rin tayo sa company. Mag-invest tayo sa company na maraming back-up na prime assets at affiliated sa reputable companies.

Maganda rin kung makilala natin ang mga tao behind these pre-need companies, na sana masigurado natin na hindi sila katulad ng mga tao at pamilya na hanggang ngayon ay niloloko ang mga planholders, kagaya ng mga tao at pamilya behind Platinum Plans, Ideal Pension Plans, Grayline Plans, Legacy Plans at yong marami pang iba na naglaho na lang at iniwan ang mga umaasang planholders. Pero paano ba nating masasabi na ang isang executive, director o businessman ay reputable at magiging consistently reputable?

Saan ba tayo puedeng mag-invest nang merong katiyakan? Dahil mapa-bangko, mapa-insurance, mapa-pre-need, mapa-investment company, mapa-co-op, meron at meron nagko-close na wala man lang instructions sa customers, planholders or policyholders nila?

Here’s a list of the 21 pre-need firms licensed by the Insurance Commission as of September 6, 2011 to operate as pre-need companies for the year 2011.

Here’s the old list of pre-need firms or pre- need companies, if you like to compare:
Pre-Need Firms Licensed to Sell Pre-Need Plans in the Philippines as of Dec 2009

There are other pre-need firms that failed, but they’re trying their best to return at least a part, if not a big part, of what they got from planholders. One is Pryce Plans. I know because my friend has been getting money and goods from this pre-need firm. Despite difficulties, Pamana was able to give checks to another friend of mine for her children’s education. A niece was able to get checks from CAP.

Permanent Plans has been updating its website for its planholders since it decided to stop operating. It has a letter to its planholders explaining its decision and its subsequent plans. Its latest report is dated February 25, 2011, which is a list of planholders for liquidation payment.

Prudentialife Plans was ordered by the SEC to stop selling pre-need plans, but it has continued servicing its pre-need planholders. The firm has diversified into other businesses, such as financial services, non-life insurance, health care, real estate, travel and leisure services.

Danvil Plans discontinued selling its portfolio to Legacy when it was warned about the condition of Legacy despite a higher purchase bid from Legacy. And it continued servicing its planholders through an insurance firm.  I know — I got my maturity benefits.

The owners and executives of most of the firms above have what we call integrity, moral values, compassion, and a sense of right and wrong.

Can we say the same of the owners of Platinum Plans, Ideal Pension Plans and Grayline Plans? Do these owners feel comfortable FEEDING THEIR CHILDREN and GRANDCHILDREN with the money grabbed from hardworking farmers, teachers, soldiers, laborers, and low-paid employees who sacrificed to be able to pay their premiums monthly so their children can have a good future?

Who will fight for these suffering planholders?     Government officials? The courts? Politicians?

They have not.  So perhaps a court higher than all the supreme courts on earth will.

Genesis 4

And He said, “What hast thou done?  The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”

Romans 12:19 ESV

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Numbers 14:18 ESV

The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.

Update from Nori on Ideal Pension Plans:

Next hearing is on March 18, 2011, Friday at 9:00 am sa RTC Makati Branch 66.

Under liquidation na po ang Ideal. The court is in the process of approving the liquidation plan. Kailan makukuha ang pera? Di po natin masasabi. It could be months or even years from now. Huwag po tayong mag expect na makukuha natin ng buo ang contract price. Approximately 20% lang makukuha. Depende sa mabebentang ari-arian ng court appointed liquidator, baka mas malaki o mas maliit ang makukuha.

Related Article:
Ideal Pension Plans Corp. Planholders — Time to Unite

Pre-need Companies in the Philippines Now under Insurance Commission

Pre-Need Planholders — How to Ask Help from the Insurance Commission

The pre-need law was passed in December 2009 and the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were signed in March 2010.

Visit the website of the Insurance Commission at insurance.gov.ph, and you will see the pre-need code and the IRR already published on the site.

You will also see the list of the 23 pre-need firms under Directory of the IC  home page.  However, the list on the IC was still the list previously prepared by the SEC.

The list includes the 23 pre-need firms that were licensed to sell pre-need plans as of December 2009:

1. Abundance Providers and Entrepreneurs Corporation (APEC) (formerly Pacific Plans)
2. AMA Plans
3. Ayala Plans
4. Caritas Financial Plans
5. CityPlans
6. Cocoplans
7. Danvil Plans (formerly Berkley International Plans)
8. Destiny Financial Plans
9. Eternal Plans
10. First Country Plans
11. First Union Plans
12. Grayline Plans
13. Himlayang Pilipino Plans
14. Loyola Plans Consolidated
15. Manulife Financial Plans
16. Mercantile Careplans
17. Paz Memorial Services
18. Philplans First (formerly Philam Plans)
19. Provident International Plans
20. St. Peter Life Plan
21. Sun Life Financial Plans
22. Transnational Plans
23. Trusteeship Plans

The only two changes from the May 2009 list are:

• the addition of APEC to the list
• change of name of Philam Plans to Philplans

For those who have complaints, inquiries or claims, you can address them to:

Public Assistance & Information Division

523-8461 to 70 local 102, 103, 105

pubassist@insurance.gov.ph

Check again because this is often confused with a different company, Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company (PPLIC), an insurance company headquartered in Pasig City and affiliated with Danvil Plans.  Prudentialife and Prudential Life are not affiliated with each other.

If you have decided to terminate your Prudentialife plans, these are the documents you need to bring to Prudentialife to apply for termination:

1. Plan or policy contract (Original)
2. Certificate of Full Payment (Original)
3. At least two valid IDs (Photocopies signed three times)
4. Benefits Settlement Application Form (3 copies)
5. Processing fee of 300 pesos (to be deducted from the proceeds of the plan)

You can view or download a copy of the Benefits Settlement Application Form here.

If you like to view or download copies of a special power of attorney or affidavits, go here.

Always remember though that if you terminate your plan, you won’t get back all the money you paid.  You’ll only get a small portion.  The percentages are written in your plan.

But as others say, mas mabuti nang merong konti kesa wala.

I don’t have a Prudentialife plan. What I have is a Danvil plan. There was one time I also considered termination because of the pre-need crisis, but I decided to wait.

Nevertheless, we have to decide for ourselves. We gather information and then decide.  Whatever happens, we have ourselves to blame or congratulate.

Main Address:

Website:  www.prudentialife.com

For addresses of Prudentialife branches, go here.

But oftentimes, I still read them just to remind myself that I’m not alone, that I’m not the only one who made wrong financial decisions.

About four years ago, my former-OFW-husband and I lost about 400,000 pesos in a failed investment.

Going back to the Legacy Group scam, here are some of the investors that lost big amounts of money, based on news reports on inquirer.net:

Boy Galang, an OFW in Oman

Galang invested 200,000 in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme. He even canceled his flight back to Oman just to submit his complaint, hoping to get back his money.

Over 12,000 Soldiers and Police Officers Including Colonel Ariel Querubin

The Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association Inc. reported that 12,047 soldiers and police officers invested nearly 318 million pesos in Legacy’s Scholarship Plan Philippines through salary deductions.

Querubin said he had paid a total of 109,000 since buying a plan in  1999.

Legazpi investors

Investors from Albay put in between 200,000 to 37 million pesos in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme. The other regular plan holders bought their plans at 25,000 each.

160 Investors Represented by Lawyer Ceasar Distrito

These 100 investors invested a total of 200 million in Legacy while 60 plan holders invested a total of 7 million in pre-need plans.

Lourdes Redoloza, retired professor of UP Los Banos

Redoloza, 65 years old, invested 100,000 pesos in 2006 in Legacy’s time deposit scheme that promised to double her money in 5 years. She added another 250,000 years later, but Legacy dissolved before she could get it back.

According to Redoloza, there are a lot of UPLB retirees and professors who invested millions in Legacy.

Joe Lory, a naturalized American citizen from California

Lory mortgaged his house and cashed out his entire 401(k) retirements funds to invest in Legacy’s time deposit schemes.

Bien Donque, a resident of Talisay City

Donque invested 1 million in Legacy.

Investor who filed a syndicated estafa case with help from Senator Mar Roxas

Antonio Evangelista, an assistant hotel manager in Palau, filed a case together with other investors

Josephine Soriano

Soriano initially invested 100,000 in Legacy’s Scholarship Plan Philippines. Later, she invested 4 million in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme. She added another 1 million, putting her total investment at 5 million from 2007 to 2008. She has filed a separate complaint with the NBI Special Task Force.

Pontico Fortuna, a former councilor in Mandaue City

Fortuna invested more than 10 million pesos in Legacy.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles

Nograles invested 18 to 20 million pesos in Legacy.  De Los Angeles said Legacy still owed Nograles 10 million.

Aurora Soriano, former Legacy employee

Soriano, 59 years old, invested 250,000 in Legacy’s pension plans.

Analisa Soto, co-owner of recruitment agencies

Soto invested 1 million pesos in the double-your-money program of Legacy’s Asiatrust Bank, which invested the money in Legacy’s bankrupt Banco Paranaque.

Dole Philippines Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative Inc.

This cooperative borrowed 70 million from Land Bank and deposited it at Rural Bank of DARBCI in General Santos City, one of the banks owned by Legacy. The millions were siphoned off elsewhere before the rural bank collapsed.

This is the story however that touches my heart the most, along with the story of the soldiers and the police officers:

According to Butch del Castillo of Business Mirror, he knows 3 siblings who inherited a house and lot near the center of Makati which can easily be sold at 20 million pesos.  They mortgaged the property in a commercial bank and invested the entire loan proceeds in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme.

After Legacy collapsed, the property was repossessed by the bank, and now the siblings are staying in a small rented apartment.  Certainly,  for decades,  the parents of these children worked hard to buy and pay for the house — and now, it’s gone.

Again, it’s the planholders who are suffering.

Back in April, Permaplans’ president Juan Miguel Vazquez said his firm isn’t considering going to court for rehabilitation because court rehab takes time and delays payments to planholders.

But now the firm has filed for rehab, which according to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez is not the best option for planholders. He mentioned this while commenting on the Legacy case.

An example of a pre-need court rehab is that of CAP. After getting suspended in 2004, CAP petitioned for rehab in 2005. The court granted it in 2006. Up to now,  CAP planholders have not received what is due them.

I also have a fully-paid CAP plan for my niece, but I’ve temporarily stopped pursuing it. I also sold one big CAP plan to a family friend, and I’ve made my big sorry and they’ve been nice. But I don’t know if the family thinks of CAP and then thinks of me. I’m glad now I sold only one.

Going back to PermaPlans:

According to Doris Dumlao of Philippine Daily Inquirer,
Permaplans petitioned a Makati court on May 21 to allow it to do the following:

• pay planholders who want to terminate their plans on a 60-40 basis: 60 percent in assets such as memorial lots and 40 percent in cash

• pay holders of maturing plans in five years: 10 percent on the 1st year, 45 percent on the 4th year and 45 percent on the 5th year.

Permaplans has about 11,000 planholders.

I’m saddened by the fact that Vazquez and the SEC are fighting.

Vazquez said the SEC froze Permaplans’ trust fund, so PermaPlans was forced to file for rehabilitation.

But the SEC said it didn’t freeze Permaplans’ trust fund.

According to the SEC, what it did was:

• to notify Permaplans that SEC opposed its plan of paying planholders who prefer to terminate their plans on a 60-40 basis

• to direct the trustee banks to secure approval first from SEC before approving withdrawals from Permaplans

There’s an article by Neal Cruz titled Gov’t regulatory agencies sleeping on the job . He didn’t name the pre-need firm, but obviously he’s referring to Permaplans.

I’m just bothered by the initial action of court rehab:

protect the pre-need firm from claims or give a reprieve to the pre-need firm from paying its obligations while something is being worked out.

Sources:

Permaplans seeks court approval for rehab
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer

SEC tightens lid on Legacy
By Darwin G.Amojelar
The Manila Times

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.

The information here was gathered by Philippine Daily Inquirer reporters at the resumption of the Senate inquiry into pre-need firms on May 6.

• Coco Plans, AMA Plans and Danvil Plans were found by SEC to have deficient trust funds.
• Coco Plans and Danvil Plans have submitted their proposals on how to build up their capital.
• AMA Plans has not yet submitted its proposal.
• Some of the remaining 19 pre-need firms have submitted their financial statements and have to comply with the SEC requirement until May 14.
• Caesar Michelena of Coco Plans said Coco Plans’ trust fund is enough to make maturity pay-outs for the next 9 years.
• SEC Chairwoman Fe Barin said SEC was reviewing the financial statements of the pre-need firms and coordinating with trustee banks if the trust funds are there.
• Senator Manuel Roxas suggested that SEC require pre-need firms to fill up the deficiencies in their trust funds before they continue selling plans.
• Roxas mentioned that the failed Legacy was still selling plans the month before it applied for dissolution.

Source:  3 more troubled pre-need firms watched
By Christine Avendano
Philippine Daily Inquirer

My mistake was I thought the Prudentialife Plans Inc. which was suspended recently by SEC is the same Prudential which has been partnering with Danvil Plans since 2007.

Thanks so much to Rolly who made the correction. Based on Rolly’s info and on my quick online research, these are some info that would clear things up:

Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co. is the company which bought the life insurance portfolio of Berkley/Danvil in 2007. This is also the issuer of life insurance plans and endowment plans being sold by Danvil Plans.

Philippine Prudential is a life insurance company supervised by the Insurance Commission. It is not a pre-need company.
web site: http://www.philprudentiallife.com/pplic/

On the other hand, Prudentialife Plans Inc. is a pre-need company supervised by the SEC.  This is the company whose license to sell was suspended by the SEC last April 2009.
web site: http://www.prudentialife.com/

The good news then to many of you whose plans were issued by  Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co. ( sold through Danvil Plans) is that your plans are not affected by the  trust fund problems prevalent in the pre-need industry… because your plans are insurance plans issued by an insurance company, which has been operating since 1963, according to its web site.

Prudentialife President Jose Alberto Alba has responded to the SEC’s suspension of its license to sell new pre-need plans by saying that the firm will continue to operate as a servicing firm for its preneed plans.

He said the firm will continue to pay benefits to planholders.

He also said Prudentialife Market Resource Corp. will continue to sell health plans, mutual funds and other insurance products and will continue to pursue new opportunities beyond the preneed industry.

I’m just bothered by the last statement in the article, saying that only 2 preneed firms submitted their capital build-up plans before the deadline of April 15 — Prudentialife and Cocoplans. Cocoplans’ proposal was approved while Prudentialife’s plan was not.

What about the other preneed firms?  What are their capital build-up plans?

In a related article, SEC Chairperson Fe Barin was quoted as saying that planholders affected by the suspension of Prudentialife’s license to sell pre-need plans should go to the SEC for advice.

Source/Reference:  Hannah L. Torregoza, author
SEC revokes license to sell of Prudential Life Plans, firm airs side

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