The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) will soon start paying out the deposit insurance claims of depositors of the closed 12 Legacy-affiliated banks with balances of up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P250,000.

“We will start mailing check payments for valid deposit insurance claims, or letters regarding the status of claims by the end of April,” PDIC President Jose C. Nograles said. He said that PDIC had been mailing checks for depositors of other closed banks in the past through registered mail. It is the fastest way to send payments to depositors.

PDIC reported that as of April 2, 2009, it had distributed claim forms to 109,726 depositors or about 78% of the estimated total number of depositors of the 12 Legacy-affiliated banks. These Legacy banks have about 135,000 deposit accounts owned by an estimated 141,000 depositors.

A total of 70,152 depositors or 64% of the 109,726 depositors who have already been given claim forms have already filed their claims with PDIC. The remaining depositors are expected to file their claims on their designated appointment dates scheduled this month.

PDIC said it will issue an advisory to announce within the week the schedule and payout sites for the resumption of claim form distribution and filing of claims for the Legacy banks.