October 6, 2017

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) is set to implement interim procedures on deposit insurance payment in view of a new check clearing process implemented on July 1, 2017 by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC). The interim procedures involve depositors of the closed Countryside Cooperative Rural Bank of Batangas; Rural Bank of Barotac Viejo (Iloilo), Inc.; Rural Bank of Goa (Camarines Sur), Inc.; Rural Bank of Ragay (Camarines Sur), Inc.; and Rural Bank of Iligan City (Lanao del Norte), Inc. who were not required to file deposit insurance claims and are covered by PDIC’s early payment scheme.

In a recent advisory, PDIC said that postal money order (PMO) checks earlier issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) to depositors as deposit insurance payment which were not presented to banks before the implementation of the new check clearing process can no longer be negotiated or encashed.

Affected depositors were advised to bring their PMO checks to any branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines for encashment (for checks amounting to PHP15,000 and below), or for deposit (for checks amounting to more than PHP15,000).

Depositors may also return the PMO checks in order to get replacement checks. They may opt to personally return the checks to the post office that released these checks or to the PDIC Public Assistance Center located at the 3rd Floor, SSS Building, 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City. PMO checks may also be returned via mail or courier service addressed to the PDIC Public Assistance Department, 6th Floor, SSS Building, 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City. Replacement checks will be sent to the depositor based on the indicated addresses in the closed banks’ records. Depositors whose addresses have changed are required to file deposit insurance claims. The requirements and procedures for filing claims are posted in the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph.

In 2015, as part of PDIC’s commitment to promptly pay deposit insurance to closed banks’ depositors and provide depositors immediate access to their trapped funds, PDIC waived the filing of deposit insurance claims for eligible depositors with account balances of PHP100,000 and below. They were paid PMO checks mailed either to their addresses as recorded in the closed banks or to the addresses indicated in the Mailing Address Update Forms (MAUF) submitted by the depositors to PDIC.

For questions or additional information, depositors may contact the PDIC Public Assistance Department through telephone numbers (02) 841-4630 or 841-4631. Depositors outside Metro Manila may call the PDIC Toll Free Hotline at 1-800-1-888-PDIC (7342). Walk-in clients may also visit the PDIC Public Assistance Center, 3rd Floor, SSS Bldg., 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Inquiries via Facebook may also be sent as private message through www.facebook.com/OfficialPDIC.

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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 PHP500,000 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.