Government warned vs Legacy offer

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Manuel Roxas II warned the Department of Justice yesterday against being duped into accepting a “compromise deal” with Celso de los Angeles.

“Don’t be fooled,” he said.

“Prioritize the welfare of those duped by De los Angeles. Celso is now negotiating with the government because he knows he’ll really get it.

“Let’s not be fooled into accepting something much less or even nothing for Legacy’s planholders and depositors.”

Roxas, Senate committee on trade and commerce chairman, said the victims are crying out for justice, not another “Task Force Turtle.”

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.

Roxas said Malacañang was helping De los Angeles escape his obligations by creating yet another task force that would complicate the process and buy him time.

“If action would be done six months henceforth, then the Palace is just helping De los Angeles escape. They’re just making the process too complicated,” he said.

“Let’s say the DOJ task force is able to come up with a recommendation in April. Does this mean we’ll have to wait for six months before the President gives them leave to file a case in court?”

Roxas said the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas should stop “dilly-dallying” and immediately seek the attachment of De los Angeles’ assets to guarantee the return of Legacy’s estimated P30 billion in obligations to pre-need plan holders and bank depositors.

No less than De los Angeles has admitted in previous committee hearings that the pre-need firm Legacy Consolidated Plans Inc. only has P350 million in its trust fund, he added.

The inter-agency task force, to be composed of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Departments of Justice and of Labor and Employment, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, among others, is separate from the task force already formed by the justice department to investigate all complaints related to the irregular transactions of all Legacy companies.

OFW funds missing

Administrator Jennifer Manalili of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) confirmed yesterday that millions of pesos for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) have gone missing after being invested in the padlocked Rural Bank of Parañaque.

In an interview, Manalili said the POEA will order the recruitment agencies whose OFW funds were deposited to the bank controlled by the Legacy Group of businessman Celso de los Angeles to replenish their escrow funds.

“We had done an inventory to identify the agencies that deposited fund to the Legacy and require them to replenish the fund within 30 days,” she said.

Manalili said POEA regulations require every recruitment agency to set up at least P1 million in escrow fund for the money claims of overseas Filipino workers.

“It’s not a welfare fund but the escrow fund that they deposited to the Parañaque Rural Bank,” she said.

Manaili said more than a hundred recruitment agencies had deposited their escrow fund to the Rural Bank of Parañaque.

“Not all of the funds of the agencies are missing, but they have to replenish and comply with the required P1 million escrow because it is necessary to ensure that the money claims of workers can be met and awarded,” she said.

Manalili said recruitment agencies that fail to replenish their escrow funds would be suspended.

“It’s a consequence that an agency should be prohibited from conducting documentary processing of OFWs until they can replenish the escrow fund,” she said.

Deputy Administrator Han Cacdac said the POEA has yet to determine the total amount of money lost to the Rural Bank of Parañaque.

A total of 144 recruitment agencies have invested their escrow funds to Legacy-controlled bank, he added.

Some P350 million was invested in a “double your money” scheme with the Rural Bank of Parañaque, according to the Parents Enabling Parents (PEP) Coalition, a support group.

Parañaque to hand out claim forms

Parañaque Mayor Florencio Bernabe ordered yesterday the city’s barangay chairmen to coordinate with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. in distributing claim forms to depositors of the Rural Bank of Parañaque.

Bernabe said claims processing will be done at the PDIC’s main office along Pasong Tamo St. in Makati.

“With the hard times brought on by the global economic crisis, it is only right that we give our full support in helping our constituents get what is rightfully theirs from this bank,” he said.

Depositors will be notified in writing of the requirements or status of their claims and payment of valid claims shall be made through registered mail, he added.

Bernabe urged all depositors of the Rural Bank of Parañaque to take advantage of this opportunity and file their claims.

Depositors must personally work on their claims and not deal with fixers, he added.

The distribution of the claim forms will be handled by PDIC representatives Alicia Maan, Romelyn Rasay, Julia Santos and Gerald Herrera.

It will be held at the Session Hall of Barangay San Dionisio from March 18 to 20 and at the bank’s premises at the Parañaque Public Market in Barangay La Huerta from March 23 to April 3, 2009 and from April 14 to 30, 2009.

No transactions will be made on Saturdays and Sundays.

PDIC representatives will also be at the Rural Bank of Parañaque from March 18 to April 3, and on April 14 to 30 to accept claims and queries from the bank’s depositors.

There will be no transactions on Saturdays and Sundays. — With Mayen Jaymalin, Perseus Echeminada, Mike Frialde