Stronger partnership for deposit insurance payment. Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) President Cristina Que Orbeta and Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Josefina M. Dela Cruz agreed to confirm the PDIC-PhilPost partnership for servicing deposit insurance payments of depositors with account balances of up to Php100,000 through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed on October 12, 2015 at the PDIC Office in Makati City. Also in photo are PDIC First Vice President and Officer-in-Charge for Deposit Insurance Sector Elizabeth E. Oller and PhilPost Assistant Postmaster General Luis D. Carlos (Marketing and Management Support Service).

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) renewed its partnership with the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) to ensure that depositors with account balances of up to Php100,000 and who are eligible for early payment of their insured deposits will receive their reimbursements less than two weeks from bank closure.

PDIC President Cristina Que Orbeta and PhilPost Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Josefina M. Dela Cruz signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in this regard on October 12, 2015 at the PDIC Office in Makati City.

The PDIC, in July 2015 implemented a policy to no longer require depositors with account balances of up to P100,000 to file their claims, for closed banks whose records are in order. The increase in the threshold for the waiver of filing of deposit insurance claims is consistent with PDIC's customer philosophy to provide better service to depositors through early payment and via a more convenient payment scheme.

To benefit from the early payment scheme, depositors with deposit balances of up to Php100,000 should have complete mailing addresses in the bank records, or updated through the Mailing Address Update Form, to allow delivery of payment by PhilPost. Depositors should not have outstanding obligations to the closed bank. The early payment scheme allows depositors immediate access to their hard-earned savings. Payments are mailed to the depositors' addresses via Postal Money Orders (PMOs) or checks.

The partnership between the PDIC and PhilPost for the payment of insured deposits started in 2010. At that time, early payment was allowed for deposits with balances of up to P5,000. This was increased to Php10,000 in 2011, to Php15,000 in 2012 and P50,000 in 2014.

PDIC President Orbeta emphasized the importance of expeditious payment especially to small depositors who need to immediately access their trapped funds. She also expressed optimism that, driven by both agencies' desire to serve the public, said partnership will further strengthen.

Postmaster General Dela Cruz said that the partnership not only allows PhilPost to serve the people by being a conduit to the money to be released to depositors but also helps them establish the trust of people especially in far-flung areas. She said that the partnership was an opportunity for PhilPost to face and overcome challenges to restore the people's faith in the postal service.

As the state deposit insurer whose quality management for claims settlement operations has been re-certified ISO 2008:9001 compliant, PDIC is committed to continuously improve its operations and processes to better serve the depositing public.

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The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) was established on June 22, 1963 by Republic Act 3591 to provide depositor protection and help maintain stability in the financial system by providing permanent and continuing deposit insurance. Effective June 1, 2009, the maximum deposit insurance coverage is P500,000 per depositor. All deposit accounts by a depositor in a closed bank maintained in the same right and capacity shall be added together. A joint account shall be insured separately from any individually-owned deposit account.

PDIC news/press releases and other information are available at the website, www.pdic.gov.ph.