Workers belonging to the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) today picketed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to press for the deferment of the Monetary Board’s approval of the controversial SSS-Banco De Oro deal.
“Until such time that the SSS has fully explained the propriety of the deal to its own members, the Monetary Board should not allow the deal to be
consummated,” Josua Mata, APL secretary general said. “Especially now that there is an accusation that someone got a ‘Christmas gift’ of P2 billion from the deal,” he added.
The APL declared that while they generally do not trust politicians, they nonetheless welcome the Senate’s probe into the matter. “All SSS investments must be carefully reviewed. For all we know, there may be other SSS investments that are in far worse condition than those in the Equitable-PCI Bank,” Mata said.
While everyone was out on a Christmas break, the SSS brokered a deal to sell its stake in the Equitable PCI Bank to Henry Sy’s Banco de Oro for a total of almost P14 billion. For a downpayment of only P1 billion, Banco de Oro will have full control of the 25.8% of the total outstanding shares in Equitable PCI Bank, the country’s third largest bank. The balance of almost P13 billion will be paid in the form of zero bonds maturing in 6 1/2 years. It was reported that the deal would result to SSS losing P6.7 billion or 42% of its investment and several questions remain unanswered.
The deal requires the imprimatur of the Monetary Board.
Is the SSS really getting the best price? What about the other offers reported in the newspapers? Was the option for a worker’s buyout explored? Why is the downpayment only P1 billion? Why not higher? What does the SSS intend to do with the P1 billion in downpayment? What is our guarantee that they will not squander it away again? Are the zero coupons of Henry Sy attached to BDO’s assets or revenues as guarantees for the balance of almost P13 billion? Why is it that until now, no one has been made to account for SSS anomalous exposure in Equitable-PCIB in the first place? These are just some of the more important questions being raised by the workers.
The APL vowed to continue to hold actions to ensure that no bad deal would be consummated. “We would be forever vigilant to prevent another SSS fiasco and ensure that our money would be safe from unscrupulous capitalists and politicians,” Mata declared.
Showing posts with label SSS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SSS. Show all posts
Jan 12, 2004
The SSS-BDO Deal Should Be Stopped!
Workers continue to pay the price of bad investment decisions being made by SSS. While the SSS has yet to account for the dubious transaction that got it involved in the Equitable PCI Bank fiasco in the first place, it is again entering into another questionable negotiation while trying to divest.
The SSS is selling its stake in the Equitable PCI Bank to Henry Sy’s Banco de Oro for a total of almost P14 billion. For a downpayment of only P1 billion, Banco de Oro will have full control of the 187,847,891 common shares in Equitable PCI Bank, representing 25.8% of the total outstanding shares of the country’s third largest bank. The balance of almost P13 billion will be paid in the form of zero bonds maturing in 6 1/2 years.
While the SSS management is portraying the whole thing as a good deal for its 25 million members, we in the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) remain unconvinced. After all, the deal would result to SSS losing P 6.7 billion or 42% of its investment and several questions remain unanswered.
According to SSS President Corazon S. De La Paz, the SSS is trying to minimize further losses in its investment in Equitable PCI since the fund has not received dividends since 1999. But we have to ask, was due diligence performed in order to assess the real value of the bank? Who conducted such due diligence? If SSS is concerned about minimizing further loss, why is it allowing Banco de Oro to avoid paying interest for its acquisition by using zero bonds that mature in 6 1/2 years?
Why is SSS, a fund owned by workers, dealing with a company owned by a reputed union buster? We find it highly objectionable that the SSS management did not even feel it proper to distance itself from Henry Sy when the tycoon has yet to settle its dispute with its workers in SM.
Why not sell its stake to its own members instead? If every member of the SSS opts to buy into the Equitable PCI Bank, every member would only have to shell out less than P600. Certainly it would not take 6 1/2 years to collect that amount from every SSS member. With workers gaining 25.8% of the bank, the SSS would even pave the way for the creation of a worker’s bank later on!
We find it highly suspicious that this deal is being rushed at a time when the national elections are in the offing. We find it hard to believe that Ms. De La Paz started this agreement without the approval of President Gloria Arroyo. Is this deal really not connected in any way with the elections?
Finally, who should we hold accountable for this mess? What has happened to all the investigations on the anomalous transactions that the SSS entered into during the previous administration?
Unless these questions are answered, the SSS negotiations with Banco de Oro must be stopped. Instead of secretly dealing with Henry Sy, the SSS management should openly deal with its members and explore all options on how best to recover its investment in Equitable PCI bank.
The SSS is selling its stake in the Equitable PCI Bank to Henry Sy’s Banco de Oro for a total of almost P14 billion. For a downpayment of only P1 billion, Banco de Oro will have full control of the 187,847,891 common shares in Equitable PCI Bank, representing 25.8% of the total outstanding shares of the country’s third largest bank. The balance of almost P13 billion will be paid in the form of zero bonds maturing in 6 1/2 years.
While the SSS management is portraying the whole thing as a good deal for its 25 million members, we in the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) remain unconvinced. After all, the deal would result to SSS losing P 6.7 billion or 42% of its investment and several questions remain unanswered.
According to SSS President Corazon S. De La Paz, the SSS is trying to minimize further losses in its investment in Equitable PCI since the fund has not received dividends since 1999. But we have to ask, was due diligence performed in order to assess the real value of the bank? Who conducted such due diligence? If SSS is concerned about minimizing further loss, why is it allowing Banco de Oro to avoid paying interest for its acquisition by using zero bonds that mature in 6 1/2 years?
Why is SSS, a fund owned by workers, dealing with a company owned by a reputed union buster? We find it highly objectionable that the SSS management did not even feel it proper to distance itself from Henry Sy when the tycoon has yet to settle its dispute with its workers in SM.
Why not sell its stake to its own members instead? If every member of the SSS opts to buy into the Equitable PCI Bank, every member would only have to shell out less than P600. Certainly it would not take 6 1/2 years to collect that amount from every SSS member. With workers gaining 25.8% of the bank, the SSS would even pave the way for the creation of a worker’s bank later on!
We find it highly suspicious that this deal is being rushed at a time when the national elections are in the offing. We find it hard to believe that Ms. De La Paz started this agreement without the approval of President Gloria Arroyo. Is this deal really not connected in any way with the elections?
Finally, who should we hold accountable for this mess? What has happened to all the investigations on the anomalous transactions that the SSS entered into during the previous administration?
Unless these questions are answered, the SSS negotiations with Banco de Oro must be stopped. Instead of secretly dealing with Henry Sy, the SSS management should openly deal with its members and explore all options on how best to recover its investment in Equitable PCI bank.
Sep 9, 2002
SSS will raise premium pay AMID strings of anomalies
Two women workers from the Industrial Group Philippines Inc. (IGPI), a small factory in Meycauayan, Bulacan, have petitioned SSS in 1997 to investigate an anomaly in its system of granting benefits when fictitious maternity benefit claims using the petitioners’ names in late 1996 were approved and released without them filing for such claims. However, further inquiry later revealed that more women employees have found to have claimed their maternal benefits without these persons giving birth and getting married or are married but have been already ligated. They constantly followed it up but no action was taken by the SSS. Unfortunately, the incident happened again in 2001 when five (5) workers did not file such claims but were found on SSS records to have already claimed their maternity benefits. Again, further inquiries revealed that more employees were victimized by said nefarious activities.
These incidents are but a mere speck of dust of the countless anomalies that would not have happened without the knowledge of SSS personnel and even SSS top officials.
As we all know, corruption engulfs the social security system. For its top officials, certainly the stakes are much higher. Case in point, the former President of the Republic and top executives of SSS have unabashedly carried out more blatant display of mischief and flimsy investments that eventually led to huge losses of SSS funds to the detriment of its 23-million members.
Funds amounting to 34.5 billions of pesos were divested in just 31 months during the Estrada presidency. The government lost P6.4 billion in PLDT, P1.4 billion in Union Bank, P2.8 billion in Meralco and P12 billion in PCI-Equitable transactions. This does not include the P150 million losses it endured when it was prodded by Estrada to invest P745million in Belle Corp. where Estrada received P189 million as commission in exchange for the investment. Apart from this, it is a well known fact that top SSS executives receive salaries of not less than 350,000 pesos a month thus increasing SSS operating costs to a whopping 4.2 billion pesos in 2000, nearly double from 1997's 2.3 billion pesos putting a tenth of the members contribution to the executive’s salaries alone. Apparently, SSS executives receive fantastic and galactic salaries only to mismanage and let powerful individuals in the society to loot the people's money.
Now, Gloria Arroyo, in an apparent attempt to recover billions of pesos in losses due to the unabated corruption and investment of SSS funds to questionable transactions, has opted to bleed the workers further by increasing premium payments by 6% to 22%. Instead of going after the crooks in the SSS and restructure its system to ensure rightful delivery of service and prudent handling of its funds, Arroyo will further squeeze the workers of their meager pay without any increase in workers benefits.
The Alliance of Progressive Labor calls on the government not to inflict more miseries to the already impoverished Filipino people by deciding against their interest only to maintain a system infested by a few who have no other business but to exploit the workers. The system should be overhauled and should have transparency in all of its undertakings. After all, what they are using is the people’s money.
These incidents are but a mere speck of dust of the countless anomalies that would not have happened without the knowledge of SSS personnel and even SSS top officials.
As we all know, corruption engulfs the social security system. For its top officials, certainly the stakes are much higher. Case in point, the former President of the Republic and top executives of SSS have unabashedly carried out more blatant display of mischief and flimsy investments that eventually led to huge losses of SSS funds to the detriment of its 23-million members.
Funds amounting to 34.5 billions of pesos were divested in just 31 months during the Estrada presidency. The government lost P6.4 billion in PLDT, P1.4 billion in Union Bank, P2.8 billion in Meralco and P12 billion in PCI-Equitable transactions. This does not include the P150 million losses it endured when it was prodded by Estrada to invest P745million in Belle Corp. where Estrada received P189 million as commission in exchange for the investment. Apart from this, it is a well known fact that top SSS executives receive salaries of not less than 350,000 pesos a month thus increasing SSS operating costs to a whopping 4.2 billion pesos in 2000, nearly double from 1997's 2.3 billion pesos putting a tenth of the members contribution to the executive’s salaries alone. Apparently, SSS executives receive fantastic and galactic salaries only to mismanage and let powerful individuals in the society to loot the people's money.
Now, Gloria Arroyo, in an apparent attempt to recover billions of pesos in losses due to the unabated corruption and investment of SSS funds to questionable transactions, has opted to bleed the workers further by increasing premium payments by 6% to 22%. Instead of going after the crooks in the SSS and restructure its system to ensure rightful delivery of service and prudent handling of its funds, Arroyo will further squeeze the workers of their meager pay without any increase in workers benefits.
The Alliance of Progressive Labor calls on the government not to inflict more miseries to the already impoverished Filipino people by deciding against their interest only to maintain a system infested by a few who have no other business but to exploit the workers. The system should be overhauled and should have transparency in all of its undertakings. After all, what they are using is the people’s money.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)