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Defer
the SSS-BDO Deal
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January
16, 2004 Workers
belonging to the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) today picketed the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas
to press for the deferment of the Monetary Board’s approval of the
controversial SSS-Banco De Oro
deal. “Until such time that the SSS has fully explained the propriety of the deal to its own members, the Monetary Board should not allow the deal to be consummated,” Josua Mata, APL secretary
general said. “Especially now that there is an accusation that someone
got a ‘Christmas gift’ of P2 billion from the deal,” he added. The
APL declared that while they generally do not trust politicians, they
nonetheless welcome the Senate’s probe into the matter. “All SSS
investments must be carefully reviewed. For all we know, there may be
other SSS investments that are in far worse condition than those in the
Equitable-PCI Bank,” Mata said. While
everyone
was out on a Christmas break, the
SSS brokered a deal to sell its stake in the Equitable PCI Bank to Henry Sy’s
Banco de Oro for a
total of almost P14 billion. For a downpayment
of only P1 billion, Banco de Oro
will have full control of the 25.8% of the total outstanding shares in
Equitable PCI Bank, the country’s third largest bank. The balance of
almost P13 billion will be paid in the form of zero bonds maturing in 6
1/2 years. It was reported that the deal would result to SSS losing P6.7
billion or 42% of its investment and several questions remain unanswered. The
deal requires the imprimatur of the Monetary Board. Is
the SSS really getting the best price? What about the other offers
reported in the newspapers? Was the option for a worker’s buyout
explored? Why is the downpayment only P1
billion? Why not higher? What does the SSS intend to do with the P1
billion in downpayment? What is our guarantee
that they will not squander it away again? Are the zero coupons of Henry Sy
attached to BDO’s assets or revenues as
guarantees for the balance of almost P13 billion? Why is it that until
now, no one has been made to account for SSS anomalous exposure in
Equitable-PCIB in the first place? These are just some of the more
important questions being raised by the workers. The
APL vowed to continue to hold actions to ensure that no bad deal would be
consummated. “We would be forever vigilant to prevent another SSS fiasco
and ensure that our money would be safe from unscrupulous capitalists and
politicians,” Mata declared. |
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Alliance of
Progressive Labor (APL) 2003 |
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