The Joint Technical Committee (the "Committee"), duly constituted by the Republic of the Philippines ("ROP"), through the Department of Finance ("DOF"), and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation ("PDIC"), announces that the ROP, PDIC, and Lucio Tan Group shall jointly sell their a 67% ownership interest in Philippine National Bank ("PNB" or the "Bank") (the "Transaction"), in accordance with the provisions of the Joint Sale Agreement dated 1 August 2002 and other related agreements.

Invitation to Pre-Qualify and to Bid
Interested parties in good standing with regulatory agencies, committed to, and with sufficient financial capability to further develop and enhance the Bank are invited to submit to ING Bank N.V., the exclusive financial advisor to the Committee, a request to pre-qualify together with the following:
(1) full name of the interested party, address, telephone and telefax number of principal contact;
(2) business overview;
(3) list and nationality of shareholders and their respective shareholdings; in the case of corporate shareholders, the principal shareholders thereof and their respective nationalities;
(4) evidence of financial capacity to pursue the Transaction (e.g. audited financial statements or equivalent);
(5) Duly executed confidentiality agreement (form may be obtained from ING Bank N.V.);
if the interested party is a consortium, all the information and documents enumerated above in respect of each member of the consortium, and the consortium shareholding structure. All documents must be duly certified/signed by an authorized representative of the interested party.
All pre-qualification requirements must be submitted to ING Bank N.V. no later than 5:00 p.m. Manila time on 1 July 2005 at any of the following addresses:

Interested parties should direct all clarifications to ING Bank N.V. - Corporate Finance during regular office hours at the above contact details.
Pre-qualified interested parties will be informed shortly thereafter and will be provided with a Bidding Package, which includes the bidding rules and an information memorandum on PNB. The Committee reserves the right to accept or reject any interested party without offering any reason whatsoever.
Only pre-qualified interested parties shall be allowed to further participate in the bidding. Bids shall be submitted to the Bidding and Negotiating Committee at Long Gallery, 3rd Flr, PNB Financial Center, Pres. Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City [place] from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on 12 August 2005 or at such date, time and place as may be subsequently announced by the Committee.
The Bidding and Negotiating Committee has the right to accept or reject any bid.
In the event of a failed bid, the Bidding and Negotiating Committee shall negotiate directly with the highest qualified bidder.
The bidding process shall be governed by applicable Philippine laws, rules and regulationsThe Committee and the Bidding and Negotiating Committee do not assume any obligation to compensate or indemnify any party for any expense or loss that may be incurred as a result of participating in the Transaction.
Finally, the Committee and the Bidding and Negotiating Committee reserve the right to terminate the Transaction or modify, supplement or change the rules and conduct of bidding and any other aspects of the Transaction at any time. Interested parties will be notified subsequently of any modification, supplement or change.

JOINT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE