PSE Circular for Brokers No. 2953-99

November 18, 1999 PSE CIRCULAR FOR BROKERS NO. 2953-99 PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHANGE PSE Center, Exchange Road Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City Attention: Surveillance and Monitoring Group Gentlemen: We hereby furnish you with a copy of a letter we sent today to People's Journal to rectify the baseless accusations made against Filinvest Development Corporation in a letter of a certain 2nd Lt. Jose Bautista which was published in the October 30, 1999 issue of aforesaid newspaper. Thank you very much. LexLib Very truly yours, (SGD.) DANTE T. RAMOS Corporate Secretary November 15, 1999 THE EDITOR People's Journal Gentlemen: This has reference to the letter of a certain 2nd Lt. Jose Bautista, which was published in the October 30, 1999 issue of the People's Journal under the by-line "Housing Scam", cdll In aforesaid letter, Lt. Bautista requested for an immediate investigation into what he called "the P42-billion scam in the illegal use of government funds intended for socialized housing". He went on to mention that Filinvest Development Corporation "has 8,000 units of socialized housing funded by Pag-IBIG for P1.6 Billion but all unsold and unoccupied". He further alleges that these were approved by Pag-IBIG although "the units are sub-standard and located in very far, isolated places". These are serious accusations, albeit baseless and malicious, that cause dishonor, discredit and contempt for Filinvest Development Corporation. It is unfortunate that your paper chose to dignify such gratuitous assertions with publication in your newspaper without the least attempt to verify their accuracy with our company. Lt. Jose Bautista claims in his letter to have been the security officer of Filinvest Development Corporation. Fact is that Filinvest never had any security officer by that name. Lt. Bautista omitted to identify with some degree of certainty the location of the alleged 8,000 housing units referred to in his letter. Such ambiguity betrays the lack of certainty and factual basis for his claims. For the record, there are no such 8,000 unsold and unoccupied socialized housing units built by Filinvest, which had been funded by Pag-IBIG. All Filinvest accounts approved for take-out passed the stringent screening process set forth under rules, policies and procedures prescribed and observed by Pag IBIG. Such process involves the verification of the existence and identity of the buyers of the housing units, the authenticity of documents of sale submitted and an actual inspection to determine the housing units' structural integrity and compliance with the approved specifications. Pag-IBIG would not have paid such accounts if they were fictitious transactions or the housing units were found to be sub-standard. The above considered, we ask that you allow this letter to see print in your newspaper in order to rectify the scurrilous lies that you have allowed Lt. Bautista to peddle to the public through the publication of his letter. Should you fail to do so, we shall be left with no other conclusion than that you have willfully and knowingly conspired with Lt. Bautista in his effort to criminally vilify Filinvest. We shall then be constrained to pursue all legal remedies to which the latter is entitled under the premises to vindicate its tarnished name and honor. Very truly yours, (SGD.) DANTE T. RAMOS Legal Counsel