June 30, 2016

Best Governed GOCC. Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) Commissioner and Officer-in-Charge Ma. Angela E. Ignacio (2nd from left) presents to Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) President Cristina Que Orbeta (center) the Award for Excellence (Inset) for achieving the highest score, among 90 GOCCs, on the Corporate Governance Scorecard for GOCCs (CGS) jointly implemented by the GCG and the Institute of Corporate Directors. The CGS rates the GOCCs' policies and practices in stakeholder relations, disclosure and transparency, and responsibilities of their respective Boards. PDIC topped the CGS with a total score of 94.5. The awarding coincided with PDIC's 53rd anniversary celebration on June 23, 2016 at its office in Makati City. Also present during the awarding are (L-R) GCG Director Rybigail L. Lao (Corporate Standards Office) and PDIC Directors Rogelio W. Manalo and Protacio T. Tacandong.

The Governance Commission for Government -owned and/or -controlled corporations (GCG) and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) recognized the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) as the best governed GOCC for achieving the highest score on the Corporate Governance Scorecard for GOCCs. PDIC bested 89 other GOCCs by scoring a total of 94.5 points. GCG Commissioner and Officer-in-Charge Ma. Angela E. Ignacio presented the Award for Excellence to PDIC President Cristina Que Orbeta during the state deposit insurer's 53rd Anniversary Program celebrated last June 23, 2016.

In 2015, the GCG adopted the Corporate Governance Scorecard for GOCCs, patterned after the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard and based on the Principles of Corporate Governance for State-owned Enterprises by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to raise the standards of corporate governance practices of GOCCs and be at par with the ASEAN state-owned enterprises. The scorecard rates the GOCCs' policies and practices in stakeholder relations, disclosure and transparency, and responsibilities of their respective Boards. The GCG and ICD conducted the assessments of GOCCs from February to April 2016.

In her keynote message to the PDIC organization, Commissioner Ignacio commended the PDIC for the importance it has given to good governance and referred to PDIC management and personnel as "champions of good governance." Ignacio said, "In the same way that we want the GOCC sector to push for world-class public service, we are happy to note that PDIC is also pushing for the same - becoming a world class organization in depositor protection."

PDIC was commended for its crucial role in the banking sector in covering deposit insurance risks and its initiatives to strengthen the banking system, to provide enhanced services to its stakeholders; and to continuously build up the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) to promote depositor protection and financial stability.

President Orbeta expressed optimism that the recognition will inspire the Corporation to strive even better. "Our conscious effort to govern and oversee the affairs of PDIC, espousing the principles of good governance, was not aimed at any form of recognition. Rather, it was adopted as a discipline that we hope will be the norm for this Corporation," she said.

The GCG Commissioner emphasized that under the Performance Agreement Negotiation (PAN) with GOCCs, the latter need to have a double bottomline - to deliver breakthrough results on their social mandates and to grow its financial resources and its potential to effect greater change. She lauded PDIC's achievements as a testament to how the Corporation actively pursues this double bottomline.

The Award for Excellence is another milestone achievement that marked PDIC's 53rd year of protecting the depositing public, following the passage into law of Republic Act No. 10846 that amended the PDIC Charter and provided the state deposit insurer's stronger authorities to protect the depositing public and promote financial stability. RA 10846 took effect on June 11, 2016.

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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 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.