P132 million in 3 years for ex-SSS chair

MANILA, Philippines – Former Social Security System chairman Thelmo Cunanan earned roughly P132.7 million from 2007 to 2010 in his capacity as immediate past chairman and member of the board of directors of three companies where the SSS has invested its members’ trust fund, according to Sen. Franklin Drilon.

Drilon, who chairs the Senate finance committee, said Cunanan earned P3 million in bonuses and P140,000 per diem from First Philippine Holdings alone in 2010. 

At the Unionbank, Cunanan received P960,000 in per diem diem compensation.

Documents showed that the former SSS chairman received P10.7 million in stock options, per diem and bonuses from Philex Mining, and P11.5 million from Unionbank in 2007 alone.

In 2008, he received P5.578 million from Philex Mining, P8.9 million from Unionbank, and P2.240 million from First Philippine Holdings in terms of bonuses, profit sharing and per diem allowances.  

In 2009, Cunanan was compensated a total of P70 million by Philex Mining, P16.9 million by Unionbank and P1.580 million by First Philippine Holdings.

Citing the testimony of former SSS president Romulo Neri, Drilon said the SSS has invested P27 billion with the Philippine Long Distance Telecommunications Co. (PLDT), P6 billion with the Unionbank, P14.3 billion with Philex Mining, P2.9 billion with Security Bank, P2.4 billion with Metrobank, P2.9 billion with the First Philippine Holdings, and P1.4 billion with Energy Development Corp.

cBut it is not in all these corporations that SSS is represented in the board,B he said.

Drilon also wanted to know from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. on how many boards of distressed banks these officials sit and what kind of income they earned.

For sitting as member of the board of directors of Unionbank and Philex Mining alone, Neri earned P10.401 million in 2008, P27.5 million in 2009 and P6.228 million in 2010.

For Philex Mining, Neri received P2.067 million in per diem and other bonuses while receiving P8.333 million from Unionbank in 2008. 

The next year, Neri received bonuses and compensation amounting to P10.732 million from Philex Mining, and P16.83 million from Unionbank. 

In 2010, Neri received P5.4 million from Philex Mining and P820,000 from Unionbank.

Sergio Apostol, former legal counsel of ex-President Gloria Arroyo, received a total of P25.12 million for sitting as board member of Unionbank.  

In 2008, Apostol received P346,000 in per diem allowances and earned P7.9 million in profit sharing. In 2009, he received P1.04 million in per diem, P15.43 million in profit sharing, and P380 million in per diem allowances in 2010.

Another board member, Sergio Ortiz-Luis, earned P4.6 million in stock options, P54,000 in per diem, and bonuses amounting to P1.6 million, totaling to P6.3 million, for sitting at the board of Philex Corp. from 2009 to present.