Friday, April 29, 2011

Catholic faithful finds ‘sachet life insurance’ a blessing

04/28/2011 | 10:07 PM

Patiently preaching about the virtues of insurance coverage finally paid off for Pioneer Insurance. It was able to convince the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that insuring the lives of the faithful is good for their souls and easy on their pockets.

Church workers in the diocese of Antipolo, Caloocan, Cavite, Nueva Vizcaya and few other ecclesiastical provinces now have life insurance cover for as little as P300 premium payment a year but which typically pays P100,000 for a death claim.

Pioneer Insurance assistant vice president Virgilio Del Valle Jr. said on Thursday that what started as a corporate social responsibility program originally meant to be good for the company’s soul soon also made good business sense after turning in more profit that is honest.

“We still do financial literacy sessions on group basis but there is money to be made here at the same time," Del Valle, who heads the insurer’s marketing services and communications group, said.

He said that his company aims to enroll 100,000 church workers, overseas Filipino workers, homeowners, security guards, tricycle drivers and other uninsured Filipinos by year-end covering various risks to life and limb.

Microinsurance policies

He explained that some 10,000 Filipinos from all walks of life have their “sachet life policies" – microinsurance policies written for them by Pioneer Insurance which pursued this program in earnest two or three years ago.

The company’s next goal: a million sachet life insurance policies using the lessons learned from dealing with the Catholic bishops who were at first skeptical but now endorse insurance cover for both church workers and parishioners.

Aside from the P100,000 benefit for a death or dismemberment claim for an annual premium of only P300, Pioneer also pays P150,000 for accidental death plus burial assistance of P50,000.

The same insurance policy even pays interest of three percent a year if not withdrawn for 10 years, or three times more return than any bank would pay its depositors at present.

Del Valle said Pioneer Insurance products are tailor-fit to its clients’ needs, considering that most policies lapse when premium payments become more of a burden than a blessing. – MRT/VS, GMA News

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sorsogon power coop now EVAT-free

By PNA and U.S. News Agency / Asian

Power consumption charges here and in six municipalities of Sorsogon province are now 12 percent lower owing to the exemption granted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to the local electric cooperative from the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT).

The exemption which took effect last January according to Sorsogon Electric Cooperative (SORECO) II general manager Percival Alvarez on Wednesday is in connection with the BIR’s implementation of the provisions of Republic Act 9520 otherwise known as the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008.

The Act provides for the exemption of electric cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) from collecting EVAT from their member-consumers.

Of the 119 electric cooperatives in the country, only 14 are CDA-registered and now enjoying the tax exemption to the relief of their member-consumers from paying higher electricity bills, Alvarez said.

Of the 12 electric cooperatives in Bicol, SORECO II is the only CDA-registered and now enjoying the EVAT exemption. SORECO I that covers the other half of the province remains unregistered with the CDA, he said.

The exemption, Alvarez said is a product of the long and grueling struggle for the privilege pursued by the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperative (APEC), the party list representative of the sector that sponsored and fought for the enactment of RA 9520 in the House of Representatives.

Although the law was enacted in 2008, its implementation had to wait for the change of leadership in the national government administration from the reign of former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the present under President Benigno S. Aquino III, he said.

“The EVAT exemption is a very significant reduction to the power bills of local consumers given the fact that the prevailing rate being charged by the cooperative, to our regret, is one of the highest in the Luzon mainland even as Sorsogon is a key producer of geothermal energy,” he added.

BPI launches online service for investment instruments

Date Published: April 27, 2011

THE BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) yesterday launched a service that will allow clients to conduct transactions for their trust funds and mutual funds over the Internet.
The full-service online investment facility dubbed “Investment 3.0” will enable clients to open a new investment fund account, view the portfolio, and subscribe and redeem investment funds, Theresa Marcial-Javier, BPI senior vice-president and group head of asset management, said in a press briefing.

Mario T. Miranda, vice-president for wealth management of the asset management and trust group for his part said the service is open to investors with online BPI accounts. User must also meet minimum amount requirements.

BPI requires a minimum investment of P10,000 for its UITFs and a minimum investment of P50,000 for its mutual fund products.

BPI has 11 UITFs and seven mutual funds.
“Investment 3.0 allows clients to invest in BPI’s various unit investment trust funds and mutual funds,” Mr. Miranda said.

The service can be accessed via www.bpiexpressonline.com.

“From there, one can opt to invest in our UITF and mutual fund products,” he added.

Ms. Javier went on to give assurances that online transactions will be secure, saying it will be backed by BPI’s tried and tested systems.

In the same event, the wealth management arm of the country’s third largest bank in terms of assets, also launched its Web site yesterday, www.bpiassetmanagement.com.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently approved BPI’s acquisition of the trust and investment management business and other related assets in the Philippines of ING Bank N.V. Manila branch.

BPI was second largest in terms of assets under management in 2010, with P485 million.

BPI shares closed at P58.50 apiece yesterday, six centavos lower than the previous day.

Palace order puts SEC back under the Finance dep’t

Posted on April 26, 2011 11:43:41 PM

MALACAÑANG has placed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) back under the Department of Finance (DoF) from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Executive Order 37, signed by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III on April 19, will "ensure better coordination and effective implementation of strong and stable financial policies," Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr. said in a statement.

"Given the global economic crisis, the administration intends to attain an effective implementation of policies for a strong and stable financial system that will lead to a financial sector that will be able to further economic growth and development of the country," Mr. Ochoa added.

The government is currently undertaking Subprogram 2 of the Financial Market Regulation and Intermediation Program (FMRIP) funded by a $200-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The FMRIP, reformulated and approved by the ADB Board last December, aims to support the government’s agenda of reforming the financial sector and developing the capital markets and other nonbank financial services.

It seeks to address inefficiencies in regulatory mechanisms, specifically governance and operational weaknesses in the SEC and the Insurance Commission, by strengthening enforcement coordination.

Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, who will be turning over supervisory duties to Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, confirmed that the Palace order was in line with the government’s financial reform agenda.

"Secretary Purisima wants to do a lot of financial reforms and SEC is critical to those reforms," Mr. Domingo said in a text message to BusinessWorld.

EO 37 revokes EO 800, issued in 2009 during the Arroyo administration, which took the SEC from DoF and placed it under the DTI to facilitate the coordination of policies and programs in the field of trade, industry and investment. The transfer was made at the time to facilitate DTI supervision of a crisis-hit pre-need industry.

The SEC was originally supervised by the Office of the President. Administrative functions were transferred to the DoF in 2000 via EO 192.

EO 37 will take effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation. -- JDP