New PPI owner bucks allegations the acquisition was 'shady'

MANILA, Philippines – The new owner of pre-need firm Pacific Plans Inc. (PPI) on Thursday bucked allegations that its acquisition of the supposedly bankrupt firm was questionable. In an interview on dzBB radio, lawyer Ronnie Geron, counsel for Neil Oñate, said that the businessman's acquisition of the PPI includes the pre-need firm's liabilities, indicating the legitimacy of the transaction and Oñate’s commitment to honor the planholders’ plans. “We procured all the shares of PPI. Lahat po ng liabilities and obligations ng lumang PPI ay kasama po sa aming inako. There will be a legal problem kung ang binili namin ang good side lang pero binili namin ang mga problema. Ibig sabihin, ‘di namin tatalikuran. Binili namin lahat and we are not running away from obligations," Geron said. [We procured all the shares, liabilities, and obligations of the old PPI. We’re shouldering all of those. There will be a legal problem if we only purchased the firm’s good side. But we also bought all its problems. This means that we will not turn our back on the planholders. We bought everything and we are not running away from obligations.] Oñate, who used to own Asian Spirit, paid the Yuchengco Group P250 million to acquire PPI which had earlier secured court approval to temporarily stop paying debts. New stockholders will rename the company as Abundance Providers and Investments Corp. (APIC). In an interview on dzBB radio, a coalition of Pacific Plans’ planholders questioned why the purchase of the company was done in a clandestine manner. “Ang gustong malaman ng mga planholders is bakit naging quiet kayo sa pagbili ng Pacific Plans," asked Gina Gomez, media liaison officer of the People Enabling Parents (PEP) Coaltion. [We, planholders, want to know why you bought Pacific Plans stealthily?] But Geron said the plans to buy the company were executed since February 2008, noting that the plans would meet public resistance had they been announced. “February of last year pa. Bakit tago? Kung ito ay pinag-maingay, di ito natuloy," Geron said. [The plans were made since February of last year, Had it been trumpeted, the transaction would not have pushed through.] In the interview, Geron added they are willing to hold discussions with the planholders to straighten out matters on their existing plans. “Kami po ay bukas at kami po ay kami po ay handang makipagharap. Give us around a week or two, ‘pag ntapos lang namin yung paglipat ng opisina at pag-aayos ng papeles," Geron said. [We are open to holding discussions and we are ready to face them. Just give us around a week or two, after we have transferred to a new office and we have settled all the paperwork.] Gomez welcomed the idea but said they do not want to be fooled again, noting that their concerns were not heeded when they sat down with the Yuchengcos in the previous years. “Kumbaga, naloko na kami [We have been fooled before], we don’t want to be fooled again another time," Gomez said. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV