Billions of pesos in Church funds locked in stocks

Aries Rufo
Published 7:30 AM, January 11, 2015
Updated 2:53 PM, January 11, 2015
Part 1: Can we know how rich the Catholic Church is?

AT A GLANCE:

 One of the richest dioceses in the world,

the Archdiocese of Manila leads the way,
with its hospitals and other companies
engaged in the stock market
 As of December 29, 2014, the value of
stocks of the archdiocese and its
subsidiary companies parked in different
companies listed in the PSE amounted to
more than P30 billion
 The Archdiocese of Manila decided to pull
out investments in oil and mining to be
consistent with its teachings
 The Church now has a “negative list”
where investments should not be placed
because these “go against Church
teachings.” These include firms that
engage in mining, gambling, and child
labor.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – In the repair and renovation of the Manila

Cathedral, not a single centavo was spent by the Archdiocese of Manila.

Big-time philanthropists shouldered 90% of the entire cost, according to former chief
justice Artemio Panganiban, who was tapped by the Church to spearhead the fund-
raising. When Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle gave the go-signal for the
project, there was no money to spare.

“The Church has money for operations but not for construction,” Panganiban told
Rappler.

To be sure, on its own, the archdiocese can well afford to finance the undertaking.

In fact, whenever the financial board of the Archdiocese of Manila sits down, its main
agenda “is what to do with the money,” a long-time Church adviser relates.
 Like other organized religions, one would be hard pressed to assume that the dominant
faith in the country is lacking in resources. The more difficult challenge is to determine
the actual worth of the Catholic Church, considering its errant financial reporting to
regulatory bodies.

One way of assessing the financial status of the Church is through its stock
investments, where companies are required to disclose their biggest stockholders.
Although it does not capture the entire picture, it provides a bird’s eye-view of how much
and where Church funds are.

Diversified investments

A check with the PSE showed that the Church is a major player in the stock market,
with billions of pesos in funds locked in shares. It has investments in banking, oil,
information technology, energy, food and beverages, construction, and mining.

Solidifying its reputation as still one of the richest dioceses in the world, the Archdiocese
of Manila leads the way, with its hospitals and other companies engaged in the stock
market. It can be argued that it is the most liquid among the dioceses in the Philippines.

As of December 29, 2014, the value of stocks of the archdiocese and its subsidiary
companies parked in different companies listed in the PSE amounted to more than P30
billion.*

Company Shares Value

BPI 327,904,251 P30 billion

First Phil. Holdings 463,238 P41.64 million

Concrete Aggregates Corp. 102,609 P7.18 million

Central Azucarera de Tarlac 42,652 P3.97 million

Philex Petroleum 402,641 P2 million

ISM Communication Corp. 56,020 P84,030

Philodrill 25,357,500 P 456,435

A money-oriented website, pinoymoneytalk.com, has compiled an initial list of Church

stocks in several blue chips companies, including BPI and energy firm First Philippine
Holdings Inc.

Rappler scoured latest public disclosures and collated the following:

Table 1. Archdiocese of Manila’s stock investments

Archbishop from Bohol appointed new Papal Nuncio to Spain

(UPDATED) In a reversal of roles, the new envoy of the Holy See to Spain is a citizen of
a former Spanish colony

Fifth biggest BPI owner

With BPI, the Archdiocese of Manila is the 5th largest stockholder, equivalent to 8.35%
share.

The Archdiocese appears to have consolidated its share in BPI. Based on a December
31, 2010 disclosure, its percentage share was pegged at 6%, with 3 Church-run
hospitals – Hospital de San Juan de Dios, Hospital de San Jose, and St Paul Hospital,
owning less than 1% of the total share of stocks. Two other Church related entities –
Real Casa Misericordia and Mayordomia deal Cathedral – also had substantial shares.

By September 30, 2014, these Church entities were no longer in the list of top 100
stockholders in the bank. Still, the Church investment is equivalent to one seat in the
BPI board of directors. “The Church used to have 3 seats before but its shares have
been diluted,” the Church financial adviser said.

With oil firm Philex Petroleum, the Archdiocese was number 14 in its list of 100 top
stockholders as of April 2014. However, by September 2014, the Church had apparently
divested its shares.

The archdiocese had earlier divested its share from Philex Petroleum’s sister company,
Philex Mining Corporation, where it used to be number 16 in the top 100 stockholders.
As of January 10, 2011, the archdiocese had more than 3 million shares in the mining
firm. By June, 2011, the archdiocese was no longer on the list.
 The Church financial adviser said that the archdiocese decided to divest from the oil
and mining company to be consistent with its teachings. In 1998, the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Phillippines issued a pastoral statement criticizing large-
scale mining as destructive to the environment.

But some dioceses are not practicing what they’re preaching.

Bishop’s stocks

It's not only the Archdiocese of Manila that’s dabbling in stocks. The archdioceses of
Zamboanga, Tuguegarao, Nueva Segovia de Vigan, Jaro, and the dioceses of Butuan
and Sorsogon also have placements in the stock market.

Table 2. Stock investments per archdiocese/diocese

Archdiocese Company Shares Value

BPI 269,982 P25.378 million

Zamboanga Philex Mining 1,116,147 P8.426 million

Philex Petroleum 139,518 P703,170

Jaro BPI 491,385 P46.19 million

San Miguel Corp. 856,639 P62.535 million

Tuguegarao
Ayala Corp. 28,281 P20 million

Nueva Segovia San Miguel Corp. 428,067 P31.248 million

Sorsogon Phinma 25,545 P255,450

Butuan Phinma 153,880 P1.539 million

While bishops and archbishops are only titular CEOs in their respective dioceses and
ecclesiastical goods, in essence, are not their personal assets, retired Archbishop
Diosdado Talamayan had stocks parked with Phinma under his name totalling 35,066
shares worth P350,660.

The reported Church shares listed above exclude investments that Catholic religious
groups have placed in the stock market.

Based on the PSE disclosures, the Religious of the Virgin Mary rivals the Archdiocese
of Manila in stock placements.

Negative lists

The Archdiocese of Manila’s financial empire was built by the late Cardinal Rufino
Santos. Known as a financial genius, Santos spearheaded the Church’s diversification
that included companies that, in hindsight, operate businesses that conflict with the
Church teachings.

But things have changed since then.

The Church financial adviser said the Church has a “negative list” where investments
should not be placed because these “go against Church teachings.” These include firms
that engage in mining, gambling, and child labor.

The financial adviser admits that it took some time for the Church to be consciously
selective about where to put its money, referring to its previous investments in Philex
Mining. “It takes some time for consciousness to take root,” the adviser explained.

Consciously, the Archdiocese of Manila is trying to simplify its complex cash system, the
Church financial adviser added.

The revamp could include divesting some of its investments in businesses that are not
profitable or could invite controversy in the future. – with reports from Rey Santos
Jr/Rappler.com

*Based on December 29, 2014

September 29, 2019

UP Instructor Has Reading List To
Educate Every Filipino On Martial Law
Amid the proliferation of fake news and lopsided discourses about martial law, an instructor at
the University of the Philippines in Diliman suggests a list of books to get a nuanced
understanding of martial law and the Marcos dictatorship

Romina Cabrera

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Photo shows the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, announcing on TV on the evening of Sept. 23, 1972 that he
has imposed martial law throughout the country to “save the republic from a communist takeover” and to
“create a new society from its current state of political decay.” Photo from the Official Gazette of the Republic
of the Philippines

While only University of the Philippines students may enroll in the three-unit general
education subject titled Philippine Studies (PS) 21 – Wika, Kultura at Panitikan sa
Ilalim ng Batas Militar – by next semester, Filipinos interested in the subject may also
get a crash course.

How? Through these six books recommended by Karlo Mongaya, an instructor at the
Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas under the UP College of Arts and
Letters, who is set to teach the subject.

Mongaya said the new subject is just one of the ways that the UP system is trying to
fight back “lopsided discourses” and fake news on what really transpired during the
martial law era.

But he maintained that learning the language and culture that became instruments to
reinforce or resist dictatorial rule should not be confined within the four walls of the
classroom but should be made available for all Filipinos.

“Historical works show us the sequence of events and related political, economic and
cultural facts. But how did they think, feel or behave within the constraints of martial
law? Literary texts broadly conceived can help us understand the forms of
consciousness and human behavior of this period,” he said.

Here is the reading list:

1. Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage: The First Quarter Storm & Related Events by
Jose Lacaba.

While not directly about martial law, Mongaya said this book provides a feel of the
issues that galvanized the radical youth who will subsequently form the core of the
underground movement during martial law.

2. U.G. An Underground Tale: The Journey of Edgar Jopson and the First Quarter
Storm Generation by Benjamin Pimentel

According to Mongaya, this book tells the story of how a generation was pushed to
embrace revolutionary options as the corrupt and brutal martial law regime eliminated
all legal avenues for pushing social change.

3. Lorena, Isang Tulambuhay by Pauline Mari Hernando

This one presents the life and poetic works of one of the pioneering figures of the
Filipino women’s liberation movement whose colorful life was cut short by the
dictatorship.

4. Welgang Bayan: Empowering Labor Unions Against Poverty and Repression by

Rosario Torres-Yu

Mongaya says this book is not really about the welgang bayan, but it gives a
comprehensive social investigation and class analysis of the rise of the militant labor
movement despite repression under the Marcos regime.

5. Bangon: Antolohiya ng mga Dulang Mapanghimagsik by Glecy Atienza, Galileo

Zafra and Bienvenido Lumbera

This one gathers together some of the classic repertoire of protest and street theater
during martial law.

6. Protest/Revolutionary Art in the Philippines 1970-1990 by Alice Guillermo

The book provides a sweeping account of the social realist art that sought to depict the
plight and struggles of workers, farmers, urban poor, indigenous peoples and other
marginalized sectors during the dictatorship.

Mongaya said both the Lacaba and Pimentel books were recently reprinted and are
readily available from Anvil Publishing Inc.

Meanwhile, the books by Hernando, Torres-Yu and Guillermo are published by the
UP Press.

While already out of print, the Ang Bangon anthology is still available at the Popular
Bookstore along Tomas Morato Street in Quezon City.

The course, lauded even by Malacañang, is still awaiting endorsement from the Office
of the President of UP. It will be offered at UP Diliman this second semester and
possibly in other UP campuses soon.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a press briefing on Sept. 16 that the
martial law subject “is good… if it’s a subject matter every student should know and
learn… any subject that concerns governance.”

The country marked former president Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law
last Sept. 21, with UP holding its annual Day of Remembrance on Sept. 19 by staging
protest actions.

Marcos’ eldest daughter and now senator Imee told reporters when sought for
comment on Sept.18 that offering the subject is really part of UP’s academic freedom.
“Maganda rin na pinag-aaralan. At least sana bigyan din kami ng pagkakataon na
sabihin kung ano ang pagkaalam namin sa nangyari,” she said. Imee studied law at
UP Diliman.

Mongaya said the daughter of the dictator need not worry as he assured her that the
late strongman’s speeches and reasons for declaring martial law would be discussed,
along with how the family benefited from it.

He also slammed Panelo’s recent pronouncement that martial law is a “tool to save
democracy” while acknowledging that the abuses committed during the Marcos
regime inflicted a “deep wound” on an entire generation.

Mongaya argued that while the Philippines enjoys some privileges of democracy, not
everyone has access to it.
He said marginalized sectors, such as the poor and farmers, cannot easily enjoy the
benefits of democracy in the current setup and martial law will only exacerbate the
situation.

Proponents of the new subject earlier disclosed that the declaration of martial law by
former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President Duterte would also be
studied.

Arroyo placed Maguindanao under martial law in 2009 after a massacre occurred in
the area while Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao in 2017 when Marawi City
was attacked by Maute terrorists. After the five-month siege, martial law was
extended for a year with the concurrence of Congress. Martial law has been extended
for yet another year in the entire Mindanao.

Vice President Leni Robredo suggested on Sept. 22 that a subject that tackles the
situation of the country under martial law be taught not just in UP Diliman but in
other universities in the country as well.

She believes that students will get accurate information about martial law in schools
instead of on social media. Robredo has often criticized what she describes as
the revision of history by the Marcos family and their allies.