PPI sets release of tuition support in June

Pacific Plans, Inc. (PPI) announced that subject to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approval of the funding mechanisms provided under the court-approved rehabilitation plan, it has scheduled the release of tuition support within the first week of June to availing open-ended planholders for the schoolyear 2006-2007.

The great majority of the 34,000 open-ended planholders support the court decision to rehabilitate PPI, it was added.    

At the same time, PPI president Alfredo Non said he is happy about the news that former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez will donate funds to educational planholders of various distressed pre-need companies. This can augment the tuition support to be given by PPI this schoolyear, he said.

"PPI released P591 million in tuition support and hence it is not true that leaders of PPI’s minority planholders did not receive their past tuition support from the firm," Non said  

PPI record showed that Philip Piccio, who is speaking for the Parents Enabling Parents Coalition (PEPC), received for his Plan No.10856485 last May 2005, the amount of P30,391.30.

For 2006-2010, apart from his P30,391.30 claimed tuition support for last year, he would still be getting, based on the formula of the rehabilitation court, an additional P91,692.70 for a total of P122,624.00 or a 286 percent return of investment (ROI) from his premium payment of P42,900.    

Non said that Wenina Bonifacio, another spokesperson of PEPC, received last May 2005, the amounts of P35,866.67 and P33,432.70 for her Plan Nos. 10792886 and 10793378, respectively, which are in the name of Armando Bonifacio. 

Since 2003 until 2005, she has received P200,985.29 and P66,865.40 for those two plans. For 2006 to 2009, based on the decision of the rehabilitation court, she would still be receiving for her two plans the amounts of P25,445 and P73,863. With P42,900 paid for each plan, she gets an ROI of over 500 percent for one plan and more than 300 percent for the other plan.  

"Alfredo dela Cruz, a member of PEPC who said he didn’t get anything, received in 2003 and 2004 a total of P140,028. In May 2005, he received as tuition support P70,014, which already exceeds his entitlement under the rehabilitation plan. He will, however, not be asked to return the excess," PPI said.

Lawyer Jessie John Gimenez, the executive of Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC) who filed the libel cases on behalf of the company said, "they went to court in November 2005 "after we kept our peace since April of that same year against the vicious and slanderous attacks as we try for planholders to understand the situation  PPI is in and to give it time for rehabilitation." 

"But the attacks against the YGC and its major stockholders, specifically on PEPC’s website, have turned from bad to worse not to mention their recent utterances during press conferences and interviews on TV and to the rest of the media. Let the case go its normal course and let the court decide whether our detractors are guilty or not," he stressed.