As American Insurance Group (AIG) sells its Philippine subsidiary Philam Life
ANGARA SEEKS MEASURES TO PROTECT PHILAM LIFE POLICY
AND PLAN HOLDERS

Sen. Edgardo J. Angara today said that policy and plan holders of Philam Life must be protected amid the pending sale of the subsidiary by its mother company, American Insurance Group (AIG).

"AIG's subsidiary Philam, and some 15 operating companies of Philam is stand-alone, meaning, it is independently established, organized and operated in the Philippines. While it is wholly-owned by the AIG, the underlined risk here is a change of ownership, because AIG now is 80 percent owned by the US Federal government. And since the cost of this buy-out is so heavy, they will be forced to sell their assets." said Angara, who chairs Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.

He added, "And one of the most valuable assets of AIG, is the Philippine operation as well as the China operation. It is an attractive buy to any industry player and in the process help pay up the borrowing of the exposure of the federal government."

AIG had already announced earlier that it will be selling its Philippine subsidiary Philam Life, which was identified as one of its non-core assets, in order to pay its loan to the American government.

Due to the failure of its financial products, AIG was dragged into the US Federal bailout last September 16.

"We should assure all Philam Life policy and plan holders that their investments are safe and are not affected by the pending change of ownership," Angara said.

He added, "Our regulators must closely monitor the developments since AIG has its biggest operations here in the Philippines and this can affect many Filipinos."

Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, through the Committee on Banks, Currencies and Financial Institutions recently headed a consultative public hearing to assess the impact of the Global Financial Crisis to the Philippine Financial System and Philippine Economy. This was attended by government monetary authorities, bank offcials and other stakeholders.