Mark perks up spirits of PPI plan holders

A FORMER congressman took up the cudgels for thousands of parents who had bought into Pacific Plans’ promise of tuition for their children, by donating P20 million Thursday to a group leading their campaign for restitution. Mark Jimenez turned over two checks to leaders of Parents Enabling Parents (PEP) Coalition, helping them post bail for libel cases filed against them by Pacific in Makati courts.
       In a meeting with PEP Coalition officials, Jimenez wondered aloud why, instead of working out an acceptable settlement, Pacific Plans Inc. (PPI) haled them to court over the contents of their blog site, where planholders had vented their frustration over not being able to collect money in time for enrolment.
       Pacific, now under rehabilitation, had earlier indicated it would provide tuition assistance to planholders, but not the exact amount the parents expected.
       PEP Coalition officials welcomed Jimenez’s gesture and said that they “are fortunate to have someone like him come to our aid.”
       “For more than a year now we’ve been fighting this battle for the 34,000 affected Pacific planholders,” claimed the coalition.
       “We are not worried about the legal issues and threats raised against us by the Yuchengcos. We are now more concerned about the tuition needs of the less privileged and financially handicapped planholders who had their hearts set on their children’s college enrollment this year,” they added.