Yuchengcos 'desperate' to gain public trust, plan holders say

The organization of subscribers of failed pre-need firm Pacific Plans Inc. (PPI) on Tuesday alleged that the explosion at the Grepalife building in Makati showed that the Yuchengco family was already "desperate" to gain public "sympathy." The Parents Enabling Parents Coalition (PEPC) brushed aside insinuations that it was possibly involved in the predawn explosion that ripped the Grepalife building, which is owned by the Yuchengcos. "The Yuchengco family is desperate to get sympathy or insurance. It could also be an inside job," GMA 7's DZBB quoted PEPC spokesperson Gina Gomez's text message to reporters. The explosion occurred at around 3 a.m. Tuesday and caused damage to the ground floor of the Grepalife building. No casualties were reported. PPI's parent company Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. (Grepalife) and its subsidiary Lifetime Plans hold office in building. Lifetime Plans has offices at the ground floor. Gomez also said the incident may be the handiwork of "leftist" groups trying to destabilize the government. Lawyer Felix Desiderio, speaking in behalf of the Yuchengcos, told GMA 7's Unang Balita that they will not issue any comment while an official investigation is ongoing. PEPC previously filed syndicated estafa charges against the Pacific Plans officials, who in turn filed 11 libel cases against their former subscribers before nine different courts. Chief Supt. Wilfredo Garcia, chief of the Southern Police District, said earlier in the day that the plan holders may be involved in the blast. "Alam nating may gulo ang Pacific Plans sa planholders, so posible rin na may kagagawan diyan ang apektado ng Pacific Plans, ang mga planholders," Garcia said. The Yuchengcos control the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, one of the five largest domestic commercial banks in the country. They also own and operate credit card company Bankard, Honda Cars Phils., Mapua Institute of Technology, Malayan Insurance and large-scale engineering firm EEI Corp.-GMANews.TV