MANILA, Philippines - Pre-need firms saw their revenues slide in the first 11 months of 2009 as they sold less plans, data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed.

Revenues fell by 45% to P7.7 billion as of November last year as the number of plans sold dropped 35.4% to 147,804 from the 222,985 recorded in the same period in 2008.

All 3 sectors of the pre-need industry--education, life, and pension plans--registered declines in sales during the 11-month period.

Pension plans posted the biggest drop in sales at 60% to 24,846 policies, followed by life plans with a 26.4% decline to 115,756 plans. Sales of education plans, meanwhile, dipped 26.1% to 7,202.

Sales of pre-need plans in the Philippines have been on a downward trend for the past 4 years due to loss of investor confidence, especially after several pre-need firms suffered financial problems and were unable to pay their clients.

But with the recent passage of Republic Act 9829, the industry is hopeful that they will be able to recover from the sales slump. (Read: Pre-need firms see 'brighter days' with passage of law)

RA 9829, or the Pre-need Code of the Philippines, sets the guidelines for the operations of pre-need firms and imposes sanctions on erring companies.

The law seeks to protect planholders and to ensure the viability of the pre-need industry, which has been plagued with a spate of bankruptcies and failures brought about by the global crisis.