INEC Employees Lose Nearly P4 Million in the Wake of Banco Filipino Closure

LAOAG CITY, March 31– Officials of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative said the company’s cash deposit with Banco Filipino, which has been closed down, represents INEC employees’ retirement benefits.

Menchie Cariaga, chief of Inec’s Institutional Services Department, said the deposit, which amounts to almost P4 million will only affect employees, contrary to fears that the deposit represents Inec’s general fund that is intended for power consumers.

“We wish to assure our consumers that the amount is for employees’ retirement plan and not the company’s general fund,” she said.

Cariaga said that with the bank’s closure, the full amount may not be returned to INEC noting the law that says the amount of deposit insurance is pegged at a maximum of P500,000 even when a cash deposit amounts to more than P500,000.

Representatives of INEC participated in a forum organized by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation earlier this week hoping to draw clarifications on the status of their cash deposit.

Cariaga said Inec’s management has started looking into the matter to avoid a repeat of the experience.

The PDIC started taking over the operations of Banco Filipino after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered its closure and receivership earlier this month due to the bank’s inability to pay client withdrawals.

Bank executives maintained that the bank had sufficient assets to pay its obligations with its clients. They claimed that the closure was caused by the refusal of BSP to issue an emergency loan so that the bank will be able to cope with numerous client withdrawals. (ANL/CCA–PIA)