Anyway, according to what’s on the website, as of 2007, there are 48 members. But when one looks at the list of members, there are only 29. These are:

1  Ayala Plans Inc.
2 Berkley International Inc.
representative: Alan Michael Rafe, president
alternate: Daniel Villanueva evp, CFO
3 CocoPlans Inc.
4 CAP Pension
5 CAP Assurance
6 Destiny Financials
7 East Asia Plans
8 Eduplan Inc.
9 Eternal Plans
10 Excel Memorial Life Plan
11 First Union Plan
12 Himlayang Pilipino Plans
13 Ideal Pension Plans
14 Loyola Plans
15 Mercantile Care Plans
16 Manulife Financial
17 Paz Memorial
18 Permanent Plans
19 Philam Plans
20 PETPlans
21 Primanila Plans
22 Provident Plans
23 Prudentialife Plans
24 Redeemer Life Plan
25 St. Peter Life Plan
26 Sun Life Financial
27 TPG Corp.
28 Transnational Plans
29 Trusteeship Plans

The following firms are not listed, but they are included on the home page’s flashing ads:

30 AMA
31 Classic Plans
32 Gillamac
33 Lifetime
34 Millennium
35 Platinum Plans
36 Pryce

It’s interesting to note that the three failed Legacy pre-need firms are not on the list.

Same with Pacific Plans. It’s not in the list. However, according to Chino S. Leyco’s article in the January 28, 2009 issue of “Manila Times,” Noel Oñate, the businessman who acquired Pacific Plans from the Yuchengcos, was elected to the board of the PFPPCI on January 27. Oñate’s company Abundance Providers and Investments Corp. bought Pacific Plans in December 2008 for 250 million pesos.

The one we see speaking on television speaking for the pre-need industry these past weeks, Juan Miguel Madrigal Vazquez, has been president of the PFPPCI since 2005, possibly earlier. I can’t find info on when he was elected president. His educational and professional background is on the site. He’s the president and CEO of Permanent Plans.

PFPPCI web site

My ranking of the web sites depended only on how I feel about the web sites and how they interact with users, without regard to how the senators have been performing or how I feel about them. The web sites may or may not be an indication of their performance as senators.

1. Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero http://www.chizescudero.com/

This is the most interactive site, with 21,080 registered E-forum users as of September 3, 2008. I consider it also the bravest because of Senator Chiz’s challenge for users to tell him anything, however “strong, brilliant, opposing or outlandish.” Spread across the web site are ways to make comments and get heard, such as Views & Comments and Team Chiz.

2. Senator Mar Roxas http://www.marroxas.com

This is the most digitally developed site, combining visuals, text and video to deliver its message. I was surprised that it has a YouTube section, and that it includes entertainment that features not only Korina and Kris, but also other celebrities in fashion and in show business. Senator Roxas’s key appearances on TV expectedly are the main course. The site also has an easy link to Phil-JobNet, which lists job opportunities and other info for pinoy workers. The senator’s forum has 6,311 registered users as of September 3, 2008 and his blog http://marroxasblog.com, which has a Virtual Rally feature, has just been launched in August 2008.

3. Senator Manny Villar http://www.mannyvillar.com.ph

What makes Senator Villar’s site unique is the eye-catching color theme, the familiar campaign jingle that either makes you dance or makes you move on quickly, and the way the gallery pictures move at an eye-friendly pace. There are other mouse-friendly things at the site, but sadly, the multimedia downloadables were not clickable during the times I visited the site.

4. Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri http://www.migzzubiri.org

This site has the best background, giving you the feeling of resting in a forest of green, calm and cool. Surely, what will bring more users to Senator Zubiri’s site is the approval of the bicameral version of the Socialized and Low-Cost Housing Loan Restructuring Act of 2008, which he described in his home page.

5. Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson http://www.pinglacson.com.ph

This site is the fastest-loading site, perhaps because Senator Lacson’s views and message boards are smartly placed in a separate but easily-linked blog, http://pinglacson.blogspot.com.

The header is neat, with smart use of icons, an acronym, a photograph with his young grandson and the  motto “What is right must be kept right; what is wrong  must be set right.”

6. Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago http://www.miriam.com.ph/index-mds.htm

This site’s Java script is its asset as well as its disadvantage. On the Explorer browser, Senator Miriam’s site has the most polished PC screen. But on a Java-unenabled Firefox browser, some features can not be seen. Another thing that makes the site unique is Miriam Dictionary, which features the senator’s controversial but witty quotables. The senator’s blog site is http://www.miriam.com.ph.

7. Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV http://www.senator.trillanes.org

This site has a serious look and leans more towards conventional web site design, but it is neat, well-organized and has easy links to interesting web sites, such as soldier forums, crusading sites and independent journalism sites.

Check out also the other web sites. You might find better features.

• Senator Edgardo J. Angara  http://www.edangara.com
• Senator Pia S. Cayetano  http://www.senatorpiacayetano.com
• Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada  http://www.senjinggoyestrada.com
• Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr.  http://www.nenepimentel.org
• Senator Loren B. Legarda  http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph
• Senator M.A. Madrigal  http://www.jambymadrigal.com
• Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr.  http://www.ramonbongrevillajr.com
• Senator Juan Ponce Enrile  http://www.jpenrile.com
• Senator Kiko Pangilinan  http://www.kiko.ph
  redirected to http://kikopangilinan.multiply.com
• Senator Benigno S. Aquino III  http://www.noynoy.ph