Unitrust depositors, creditors asked to appear in court

MANILA, Philippines - The Liquidation Court has directed depositors and creditors of the closed Unitrust Development Bank (Unitrust) to appear before the court to agree to the partial payment of their claims in kind instead of full payment in cash.

Unitrust was ordered closed by the Monetary Board on Jan. 4, 2002, and is now under the liquidation of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). As of the date of closure, the bank was owned by Pedro Montanez, G. Universal Co. Ltd., Leopoldo Valcarcel, Francis Yuseco Jr., Minamoto Saiken Kaishu Co. Ltd., and others.

However, there were reports that Unitrust was owned by Genta Ogami, a Japanese who was linked to a company called G. Cosmos.

Presiding Judge Winlove M. Dumayas of the Liquidation Court (Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 59) has ordered 8,179 depositors and creditors of the failed bank to convene before the Makati City RTC Branch 59 on Sept. 10, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. for the hearing of Special Proceedings No. M-6069 entitled “Petition for Assistance in the Liquidation of Unitrust Development Bank (UDB)”.

The Omnibus Order dated Aug. 5, 2013 states that depositors and creditors are directed to appear before the Liquidation Court “to agree to the proposed allocations of their interests in the real properties as payment equivalent to 38 percent of their respective claims” and “to execute their respective quitclaims and waivers once all their claims have been fully-settled”. The Order further stated that the agreement to the proposed allocation was a necessary prerequisite to the waivers required by the Court.  The contents of the quitclaims and waivers will be explained during the Sept. 10 hearing.

The Court also directed the PDIC, liquidator of Unitrust, to publish notices to the depositors and creditors in order to settle their claims pursuant to the Order of the Court dated Dec. 17, 2012.

As of July 31, 2013, the PDIC had paid P110.15 million in deposit insurance claims involving 6,592 accounts. Total deposits of Unitrust amounted to P235.59 million, of which P116.92 million were uninsured deposits and are subject of depositors’ claims against the assets of Unitrust, alongside other creditors. The maximum deposit insurance coverage at the time of Unitrust’s closure was P100,000. Also, as of Dec. 31, 2012, Unitrust has P381.4 million in total estimated realizable value of assets (ERVA).