Feb. 10--Jose Nograles, the PDIC president, told reporters that the PDIC would make a priority the claims of small depositors with regular savings accounts of P100,000 and below in the 12 rural banks.

Those with accounts of P100,000 and below represent about 62 percent of the total deposit accounts of more than 130,000 depositors.

"We will go first with the clean valid claims," Nograles said. The PDIC has engaged the services of audit firm KPMG Manabat Sanagustin & Co. to examine the deposit accounts in the 12 banks. It has examined 35,000 accounts.

The PDIC is seeking to borrow P14 billion from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which is reviewing the loan, to fund insured deposits of the Legacy banks.

The 12 rural banks closed down by the Monetary Board in December last year were: Rural Bank of Paranaque, Pilipino Rural Bank, Rural Bank of Bais (Negros Oriental), Rural Bank of San Jose (Batangas), Bank of East Asia, First Interstate Bank, Philippine Countryside Rural Bank, Dynamic Rural Bank, Nation Bank, Rural Bank of Carmen (Cebu), Rural Bank of DARBCI and San Pablo City Development Bank.

Another Legacy bank, Bicol Development Bank, was not included in PDIC's list.

The 12 rural banks have an estimated deposit accounts of more than 130,000, which were placed under PDIC receivership also in December last year. Claims servicing at the Rural Bank of Paranaque for these savings accounts started on December 22, 2008.

On February 11, the numbered deposit claim forms will be distributed at the bank and branch premises where these accounts were maintained.

Procedures for claimants

In order to get a claim form, depositors must present their original regular savings passbook to the PDIC representatives deployed at the shuttered banks' premises.

In an advisory, PDIC Executive Vice President Imelda Singzon, in charge of Claims, Receivership and Liquidation, said the claim forms would be numbered, with each number corresponding to an appointment date for processing of a depositor's claim.

"The distribution of claim forms will be on a first-come, first-served basis," she added.

Meanwhile, the distribution of numbered claim forms for regular savings accounts with balances of P100,000 and above as well as for time deposits, special savings accounts and current accounts will be announced as soon as examination of deposit records is completed.

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