DOJ recommends filing of charges vs owners, officers of Phil-Asia Care

The Department of Justice has recommended the filing of criminal charges against the incorporator-directors and officers of Phil-Asia Care Plans Inc. for unauthorized sale of pre-need plans.

This as the Justice Department upheld the findings of the Securities and Exchange Commission against Phil-Asia, its president and general manager Vicente Afulgencia, its senior vice-president Leonisa Rana, and several agents.

Phil-Asia was charged by the SEC with violation of Section 16 of the Securities Regulation Code which requires prior registration of pre-need plans before they are sold to the public.

In its resolution, the Justice Department said: "There is do dispute that Phil-Asia sold life plan agreements without first securing from the SEC a license to sell pre-need plans. This is a clear violation of Section 16 of the SRC and the Rules on the Registration and Sale of Pre-need Plans, for which respondents should be prosecuted."

The Justice Department said evidence on record disclosed that Afulgencia and Rana authorized the sale of Phil-Asia’s life plan agreements without prior approval of the SEC.

Phil-Asia, formerly Consolidated Care Plan, has no pre-need plan available for sale since 1993. It has had no dealers licensed since 1996 and no authority to operate a branch.

Since the company failed to comply with SEC requirements, Phil-Asia had been prohibited from selling new pre-need plans. It was only authorized to service existing planholders from December 23, 1993.

Findings by the SEC showed that between November 2000 and January 2002, Phil-Asia sold pre-need plans to a number of individuals.

The filing of the criminal complaint is in line with the SEC’s thrust to rid the pre-need industry of unscrupulous agents and corporations.

The SEC is also preparing revocation proceedings against Phil-Asia to make sure that the company can not use its SEC registration license to solicit funds from the public.

Phil-Asia tried but failed to stop the implementation of the cease-and-desist order issued against it by the SEC as the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Commisson.

In junking the petition for certiorari, the Appellate Court rejected Phil-Asia’s allegation that SEC committed grave abuse of discretion when it issued an order prohibiting the company from further selling pre-need plans to the public. It added that Phil-Asia failed to explain why it resorted to certiorari not appeal.

On the strength of the SEC order, the City Legal Officer of the Business Permit and Licensing Division of Pasig City withdrew the business permit of Phil-Asia and padlocked the firm’s main office.