Gov’t urged to protect pre-need planholders

A militant labor group urged the government the other day to provide protection for pre-need planholders in the wake of reports that some companies have failed to pay the tuition of policy holders as stipulated in the contracts.

In a statement, the militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said that as long as planholders are not provided protection by the government, private pre-need companies would "continue to squander the hard-earned money of parents, who try their best to save for the education of their children.

"There’s no security for pre-need plan holders as private businesses continue to squander the hard-earned money of parents and policy holders who bought educational plans from pre-need companies like CAP, Pacific Plans Inc. (PPI) and other companies who are now refusing to pay the tuition and school fees of policy holders," said   KMU secretary general Joel Maglunsod.

The labor group said the Arroyo adminsitration should also be held accountable for the current mess the pre-need industry is facing.

"Previous and present governments have not provided protective policies and buffer fund for policy holders. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) even approved PPI’s rehabilitation plan and spin-off policy," he said.

The labor group also criticized the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC), owner of Pacific Plans Inc., for filing libel cases against 16 active members of the Parents Enabling Parents (PEP) Coalition for the allegedly offensive comments about their company posted on the PEP blog site.

Maglunsod said this move by the YGC and PPI management should be met with protests from other policy holders as well as sympathetic sectors.

"After failing to address the complaints of its planholders, the YGC now resorted to harassing staunch claimants who are determined to fight the Yuchengcos and claim what is due to them," he said.