Quadripartite Agreement for Online Premium Collection, Remittance Transactions Inked

Four institutions recently agreed to make collection and remittance of social health insurance premium contributions more convenient, especially for members in the Formal Economy.

In ceremonies held in Pasig City recently, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Bancnet, Inc., and LandBank of the Philippines (LandBank) formally entered into a quadripartite agreement for Electronic Collection and Remittance of premium contributions of Formal Economy members, particularly targeting thousands of Japanese clients and multinational companies in the Philippines.

Employers with existing accounts with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. may authorize the said bank, through the eGov facility of BancNet, Inc., to credit their PhilHealth premium contributions from their accounts. As a Bancnet Employer Depository Member-Bank, the Landbank will then remit the premium payments to PhilHealth. It was nominated by PhilHealth as a settlement bank of Bancnet for all premium contributions remittances made through the eGov facility.

PhilHealth’s executive vice president and chief operating officer Ruben John Basa said that this is the first MoA signing that PhilHealth is engaging in for 2018 and is very significant for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. as the second offshore foreign collecting agent of PhilHealth. “We usher in and thank the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. in helping us achieve our goals in PhilHealth for the Filipino people,” Basa said.

Nobuyuki Hokimoto, deputy manager of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. is likewise very happy with the agreement. “Accreditation with PhilHealth is very crucial… through this accreditation, we can provide a one-stop-shop for our clients and our commitment to the Philippines is to provide the service and to continue to help in the Philippine economy as well,” he said. He also mentioned that they are the only Japanese bank to have this kind of service.

The Bank of Tokyo opened its representative office in Manila in 1953. In 1977, it obtained an offshore banking unit status and served as the only Japanese bank in the Philippines and eventually acquired a full banking operations license converting it to full Manila branch in 1995. Currently, the bank’s Manila branch has more than 150 employees who offer full range of commercial banking services to Japanese, multinational, and Philippine corporations.

Also present during the agreement signing were Bennett Zerrudo II, Senior Manager of Bancnet, Inc., Gregorio C. Rulloda, PhilHealth OIC-Senior Vice President and Chief Finance Executive, Liduvino S. Geron, LandBank’s Executive Vice President, Head of Branch Banking Sector, and Ramon R. Monteloyola, LandBank Head of South NCR Branches Group.