July 20, 2016

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) will service the deposit insurance claims of depositors of the closed Rural Bank of Siaton (Siaton, Negros Oriental), Inc. on July 21 to 22, 2016, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The pay-out shall be held at the bank's main office located at Km. 50, National Highway, Poblacion, Siaton, Negros Oriental.

Depositors with valid deposit balances of PHP100,000 and below and who do not have any outstanding loans or payables to the bank do not have to file deposit insurance claims. Their insured deposits shall be mailed to their mailing addresses per bank records or based on the Mailing Address Update Form earlier submitted to PDIC.

All other depositors, regardless of the type of their account or account balance, have to file deposit insurance claims. These include depositors with account balances of more than PHP100,000, those with outstanding loans or payables to the bank and those with incomplete addresses. Depositors whose accounts are under the name of business entities also need to file claims.

When filing claims for deposit insurance, depositors have to personally present their Savings Passbook, Certificate of Time Deposit or other evidence of deposit, and two (2) valid photo-bearing IDs with their signature.

Depositors who are below 18 years old should be represented by a parent. For these depositors, a photocopy of the child's Birth Certificate issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) or a duly certified copy issued by the Local Civil Registrar is required. The parent should sign the Claim Form and the other requirements.

PDIC will not accept claims which are incomplete or lack the requisite documents. The deposit insurer may also require other documents in the course of processing of claims.

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 Public Assistance Center, 3rd Floor, SSS Bldg., 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino Street, Makati City starting on August 1, 2016.

In accordance with the provisions of the PDIC Charter, the last day for filing deposit insurance claims in the closed Rural Bank of Siaton (Siaton, Negros Oriental), Inc. is on July 9, 2018. After this date, PDIC as Deposit Insurer shall no longer accept any Rural Bank of Siaton deposit insurance claims.

The PDIC said that all valid claims will be paid. As a rule, a claim is valid if it is filed by a depositor or claimant with valid identification, and such claim is duly evidenced by a passbook, certificate of time deposit or other evidence of deposit determined to be an authentic document or record issued by the bank. PDIC, as Receiver, has the authority to adjust the interest rate on unpaid interests on deposits of a bank if such rate is deemed unreasonable.

Meanwhile, claims of persons or entities against the assets of the bank must be filed with the Deputy Receiver of the bank either at the bank premises not later than July 22, 2016 or at the PDIC Public Assistance Center (PAC), but only until September 12, 2016. Claims filed after September 12, 2016 shall be disallowed.

For depositors of the bank with deposits that exceed PHP500,000, the claim for the uninsured portion of their deposits is already deemed filed with the Deputy Receiver of the bank upon receipt of the maximum deposit insurance payment of PHP500,000 from PDIC as Deposit Insurer. Thus, there is no need for the depositor to file a separate claim for the uninsured portion. The prescriptive date for claims on uninsured deposits shall be the same as the prescriptive date for filing of deposit insurance claim or on July 9, 2018.

For more information on the pay-out process and requirements, depositors may contact the Public Assistance Department at telephone numbers (02) 841-4630 to 31, or e-mail at pad@pdic.gov.ph. Depositors outside Metro Manila may call the PDIC Toll Free Hotline at 1-800-1-888-PDIC (7342). The procedures and requirements for filing of deposit insurance claims are also posted in the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph. The Claim Form and format of the Special Power of Attorney (SPA) may also be downloaded free of charge from the PDIC website.

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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.