The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) will service the deposit insurance claims of depositors of the closed Rural Bank of Buenavista (Agusan del Norte) from March 18 to 22, 2013. Depositors should file their claims at the banking unit where they maintained their deposit accounts. RB Buenavista’s Head Office is located in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte while its San Francisco Branch is in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.

Depositors whose accounts have balances of more than P15,000 and who have outstanding obligations with the Rural Bank of Buenavista regardless of type of account are required to file their deposit insurance claims. The announcement on the claims settlement operations of the Rural Bank of Buenavista is posted at the bank’s premises and on the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph.

On March 13, 2013, PDIC started dispatching total payments amounting to P3.34 million in the form of postal money orders (PMOs), through the Philippine Postal Corporation, to depositors who are not required to file deposit insurance claims. These are depositors who have account balances of P15,000 and below, who have no outstanding obligations with the Rural Bank of Buenavista, and who have complete and updated addresses in the bank’s records or have updated their addresses using the PDIC Mailing Address Update Form.

When filing deposit insurance claims, depositors are advised to personally present their duly accomplished Claim Form and Claim Status Sheet, original evidence of deposit, and original copy of one (1) valid photo-bearing ID with signature of the depositor, should the signature of depositor tally with signature in the bank records. In the case of joint account holders, depositors should photocopy the evidence of deposit as many copies as there are depositors of the account. Depositors may also file their claims through mail and enclose the same set of document requirements.

Depositors who are below 18 years old should submit either a photocopy of their Birth Certificate issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) or a duly certified copy issued by the Local Civil Registrar as an additional requirement. Claimants who are not the signatories in the bank records are required to submit an original copy of a notarized Special Power of Attorney of the depositor or parent of a minor depositor.

The procedures and requirements for the filing of deposit insurance claims are posted in the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph. The Claim Form, Claim Status Sheet, and format of the Special Power of Attorney may also be downloaded from the PDIC website.

Depositors who are not able to file their claims during the claims settlement operations period may submit their claims either through mail to PDIC or personally at the PDIC Office, 4th Floor, SSS Bldg., 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino Street, Makati City starting on April 10, 2013.

In accordance with the provisions of the PDIC Charter, the last day for filing deposit insurance claims in the closed Rural Bank of Buenavista is on March 4, 2015. After this date, PDIC as Deposit Insurer, shall no longer accept any deposit insurance claim.

The PDIC said that all valid claims will be paid. For deposits to be considered valid, it must be recorded in the bank’s records and must have evidence of inflow of funds, based on the results of PDIC examination. PDIC, as Receiver, has the authority to adjust the interest rate on the unpaid interest offered by a bank if this is deemed unreasonable.

For more information, depositors may contact the Public Assistance Department at telephone numbers (02) 841-4630 to 31, or e-mail at pad@pdic.gov.ph.

* * * * *