MANILA - The Securities and Exchange Commission recently released the list of 22 firms that may still sell new pre-need plans.

These pre-need firms have been granted their dealer's license to sell new plans—educational, pension, and memorial—this year.

The SEC grants these licenses to firms that meet the regulator’s requirements, specially those pertaining to its required trust funds. 

In a memorandum circular issued last July, the SEC said pre-need companies with trust fund deficiency of below 15% have 30 days to address the deficit while those with more than 15% will be given 15 days to cover half of it.

According to SEC executive director Gerard Lukban, "Ang wala dito, di pwedeng magbenta. Pero di naman nangangahuligan na di na sila nag-ooperate...(Pre-need companies that are not part of this list cannot sell new plans. But it does not mean they are not operating anymore."

Pre-need firms that are not in the list are not allowed to sell new plans, but are still paying off obligations to clients with maturing plans.

These pre-need firms are:

1. AMA Plans, Inc.
2. Ayala Plans, Inc.
3. Caritas Financial Plans, Inc.
4. City Plans, Inc.
5. Cocoplans, Inc.
6. Danvil Plans, Inc.
7. Destiny Financial Plans, Inc.
8. Eternal Plans, Inc.
9. First Country Plans, Inc.
10. First Union Plans, Inc.
11. Grayline Plans, Inc.
12. Himlayang Pilipino Plans, Inc.
13. Loyola Plans Consolidated, Inc.
14. Manulife Financial Plans, Inc.
15. Mercantile Careplans, Inc.
16. Paz Memorial Services, Inc.
17. Philam Plans, Inc.
18. Provident Plans International Corp.
19. St. Peter Life Plan, Inc.
20. Sun Life Financial Plans, Inc.
21. Transnational Plans, Inc
22. Trusteeship Plans, Inc.

The current list does not include Prudentialife Plans, Inc. and Cityplans. These two were included in the list that SEC released last January.