The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) will service the deposit insurance claims of depositors of the closed Rural Bank of La Trinidad (Benguet), Inc. from September 11 to 12, 2013. Servicing of claims will be conducted at the Benguet State University (BSU) College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Main Building, Little Theater for depositors of the Head Office and at the City Museum, City Plaza, A.B. Fernandez Avenue, Dagupan City for depositors of the bank’s Dagupan Branch.

Depositors whose accounts have balances of more than P15,000 and who have outstanding obligations with Rural Bank of La Trinidad regardless of type of account are required to file their deposit insurance claims. The announcement on the claims settlement operations of Rural Bank of La Trinidad is posted at the bank’s premises and on the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph.

On September 3, 2013, PDIC started dispatching total payments amounting to P4.6 million in the form of postal money orders (PMOs), through the Philippine Postal Corporation, to depositors who are not required to file deposit insurance claims. These are depositors who have account balances of P15,000 and below, who have no outstanding obligations with Rural Bank of La Trinidad, and who have complete and updated addresses in the bank’s records or have updated their addresses using the PDIC Mailing Address Update Form.

When filing deposit insurance claims, depositors are advised to personally present their duly accomplished Claim Form, original evidence of deposit, and two (2) original valid photo-bearing IDs with signature of the depositor. In the case of joint account holders, depositors should photocopy the evidence of deposit as many copies as there are depositors of the account. Depositors may also file their claims through mail and enclose the same set of document requirements.

Depositors who are below 18 years old should submit either a photocopy of their Birth Certificate issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) or a duly certified copy issued by the Local Civil Registrar as an additional requirement. Claimants who are not the signatories in the bank records are required to submit an original copy of a notarized Special Power of Attorney of the depositor or parent of a minor depositor.

The procedures and requirements for the filing of deposit insurance claims are posted in the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph. The Claim Form and format of the Special Power of Attorney may also be downloaded from the PDIC website.

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 Office, 4th Floor, SSS Bldg., 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino Street, Makati City starting onSeptember 23, 2013.

In accordance with the provisions of the PDIC Charter, the last day for filing deposit insurance claims in the closed Rural Bank of La Trinidad is on August 24, 2015. After this date, PDIC as Deposit Insurer, shall no longer accept any deposit insurance claim.

The PDIC said that all valid claims will be paid. For deposits to be considered valid, it must be recorded in the bank’s records and must have evidence of inflow of funds, based on the results of PDIC examination. PDIC, as Receiver, has the authority to adjust the insurance rate on the unpaid interest offered by a bank if this is deemed unreasonable.

For more information, depositors may contact the Public Assistance Department at telephone numbers (02) 841-4630 to 31, or e-mail atpad@pdic.gov.ph. Depositors outside Metro Manila may call the PDIC Toll Free Hotline at 1-800-1-888-PDIC (7342).