PDIC to hold forum for LBC’s clients on Friday; CH to help

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

DEPOSITORS of LBC Development Bank in Cebu City grew impatient yesterday when they could not get any explanation on the status of their accounts and why the bank ended up in receivership.

For some worried depositors, the forum scheduled on Friday yet is too long a wait.

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“There’s nothing we can do, we’ll just have to wait and attend the forum on Friday because that’s where they will address our concerns,” a depositor said after a brief talk with a Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) employee detailed at LBC Bank along Gorordo Ave.

She is uncertain how she would recover her savings of at least P1 million, when PDIC insures deposits of only up to P500,000.

The client, who requested anonymity, saved the money to build a house, and was getting ready to withdraw it after learning that Cebu City Hall will release her building permit soon.

“Lain kayo akong gibati. Kahilakon ko, mura og nahugno ang tanan (I feel awful. I want to cry, everything is gone),” said the depositor who went straight to LBC Bank from an out-of-town trip.

Savings

Rosario Padua, 70, also lost hope of getting her house renovated after her four years’ worth of savings were frozen by the bank.

LBC, a thrift bank, was shut down by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas and placed under the receivership of the PDIC last Sept. 9 after it turned insolvent.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama directed City Hall consultants to assist constituents who have deposits with LBC.

Lawyers Manuel Legaspi and Janeses Ponce were tasked earlier to hold an open forum and give legal advice to Cebu City residents who had accounts with Banco Filipino, which went into receivership last March.

The PDIC employee at the bank declined an interview, but she said they have started validating the bank’s accounts and other records.

Emotional

Ananias Abella, LBC Bank’s security guard, said most of the depositors who went to the bank last Monday were emotional when they confirmed the closure of the bank.

One of them is a client who used to be a depositor of one of the rural banks of the Legacy Group. When Legacy’s rural banks shuttered in December 2008, he reportedly transferred his savings to Banco Filipino, which also closed last March due to insolvency problems.

He then transferred his savings to LBC Bank, only to suffer the same fate.

Abadia said the depositor looked morose when he could not get details on the status of his account.

On Friday, though, the depositors might get the answers to their questions when PDIC hosts a forum to discuss the bank’s closure and the process for insurance claims.

The forum will be held at 9 a.m. at the Sinulog Hall of the Rizal Public Library building along Osmena Blvd., Cebu City.

Depositors may file their insurance claims within two years from the time of the bank’s closure. Only those claim forms with complete requirements will be accepted by PDIC, according to its advisory posted at the LBC Bank.

The requirements are the duly filled up claim form and the claim status sheet; proof of deposit such as the passbook, ATM card, certificate of time deposit, bank statements and unused checks; and the original and enlarged photocopy of two valid IDs with the depositor’s signature and photo.

Depositors based abroad may file their claims through a representative or their attorney-in-fact with a special power of attorney, authenticated by the consulate in the country where they reside.

Depositors can also call PDIC’s Public Assistance Department at 02-8414630 or 31, or e-mail pad@pdic.gov.ph.