What a lot of people do not know, though, is that part of the Church’s wealth is its investment in the stocks of several Philippine companies. In fact, reports submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) show that the Church and affiliate Catholic groups are the top stockholders in companies such as the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Philex Mining Corporation (PX), San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Ayala Corporation (AC), and Phinma Corporation (PHN), among others.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, for example, owns more than 300 million shares of BPI and is the bank’s 4th largest owner. How much are these shares worth? As of May 2011, this is valued at more than P17 billion. Yes, that’s seventeen billion pesos, with a B.
Aside from banking, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, together with its subsidiary hospitals and companies, is also invested in mining and construction.
As of March 31, 2011, it is the top 15th shareholder of Philex Mining Corporation (PX), the country’s biggest mining firm. It owns 3.2 million shares of PX currently worth more than P66 million.
It is also a top investor of Concrete Aggregates Corp. (CA), a supplier of construction materials such as processed aggregates, ready mix concrete and crushed sand. Its investment in CA is currently valued at around P4.5 million.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila is not the only diocese invested in Philippine stocks. Other dioceses with millions of pesos worth of stock investments include:
- Roman Catholic Bishop of Tuguegarao, Cagayan – owns 856,639 shares of SMC worth P94 million
- Roman Catholic Bishop of Nueva Segovia de Vigan – owns 428,067 shares of SMC worth P47 million
- Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo – owns 491,385 shares of BPI worth a total of P28 million
- Roman Catholic Bishop of Tuguegarao, Cagayan – owns 24,015 shares of Ayala Corp worth P9.3 million
- El Superior de la Corporacion Filipina de Padres Agustinos Recoletos – 2.37 million shares worth P260.7 million
- Superior de la Corporacion Archicofradia de N.P.J.N de Recoletos – 1.23 million shares worth P136 million
- Carmel of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague, Inc. – 957,000 shares worth P105 million
Yes, we understand that the Church has to invest its money in various assets, including stocks. We do not contend that and we recognize its right to invest their money anywhere they want. Actually, this is good because this shows that the Church is financially-literate. What we just hope here at PinoyMoneyTalk is for them to share the same to members of the Catholic community.
Apart from shaping the morality of the people, the Church should also do its part in providing financial education to its flock. The weekly Sunday sermons should, therefore, include not just lessons about being morally upright. The Church should also convince mass goers to work and pursue livelihood and to get rid of their sole dependence on God (“Bahala na ang Diyos sa amin”).
The Church should educate its people about the value of earning, saving and investing money and not condone Catholics who are already contented in life even if they are penniless (“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”).
More importantly, we believe the Catholic Church should play a more pivotal and proactive role in helping solve the ills of the country. The billions of pesos of investments (as seen in the table below) can go a long way in uplifting the lives of poor Filipino people who, admittedly, form the critical mass of supporters of the Catholic Church.
Yes, the Church is already doing its share by running hospitals and orphanages, by providing assistance to those who come to them for help, and by offering moral guidance.
But they can do more and they should do more. They owe it to the millions of Filipinos who went to Church every Sunday and donated the billions of pesos that the Church now owns.
Table: Stock Investments of Catholic Church and affiliate Catholic Groups
| Company | # Shares Owned | Rank in Top 100 | Total Investment Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 222,843,681 | 4th | 12,724,374,185 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (REAL CASA DE MISERICORDIA) | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 41,408,841 | 8th | 2,364,444,821 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA (HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN DE DIOS) | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 22,072,182 | 13th | 1,260,321,592 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (HOSPICIO DE SAN JOSE) | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 6,016,624 | 15th | 343,549,230 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (HOSP DE SA JUAN DE DIOS) | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 4,285,572 | 17th | 244,706,161 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (MAYORDOMIA DELA CATEDRAL) | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 2,664,266 | 21st | 152,129,589 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (ST. PAUL`S HOSPITAL) | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 1,772,418 | 26th | 101,205,068 |
| CARMEL OF THE DIVINE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE, INC. | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 726,819 | 49th | 41,501,365 |
| EL SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION FILIPINA DE PADRES AGUSTINOS RECOLETOS | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 551,382 | 60th | 31,483,912 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF JARO | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) | 491,385 | 64th | 28,058,084 |
| EL SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION FILIPINA DE PADRES AGUSTINOS RECOLETOS | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 2,370,000 | 31st | 260,700,000 |
| SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION ARCHICOFRADIA DE N.P.J.N DE RECOLETOS | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 1,234,603 | 75th | 135,806,330 |
| CARMEL OF THE DIVINE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE, INC. | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 957,516 | 79th | 105,326,760 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TUGUEGARAO | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 856,639 | 81st | 94,230,290 |
| REAL MONASTERIO DE LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION DE NUESTRA MADRE SANTA CLARA DE MANILA | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 809,834 | 83rd | 89,081,740 |
| SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION DE PADRES RECOLETOS POR BECAS Y VOCACIONES | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 621,702 | 89th | 68,387,220 |
| CARMEL OF ST THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 592,956 | 91st | 65,225,160 |
| THE DISCALCED CARMELITE NUNS OF CEBU | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 451,864 | 95th | 49,705,040 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF NUEVA SEGOVIA DE VIGAN | San Miguel Corp (SMC) | 428,067 | 98th | 47,087,370 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA | Philex Mining Corp (PX) | 3,221,135 | 15th | 66,677,495 |
| RELIGIOUS OF THE VIRGIN MARY - B | Philex Mining Corp (PX) | 3,125,777 | 16th | 64,703,584 |
| RELIGIOUS OF THE VIRGIN MARY-A | Philex Mining Corp (PX) | 1,091,027 | 69th | 22,584,259 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TUGUEGARAO | Ayala Corporation (AC) | 24,015 | 73rd | 9,289,002 |
| KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS FRATERNAL ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILS, INC. | Ayala Corporation Preferred Shares - A (ACPA) | 60,000 | 2nd | 31,800,000 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TAGBILARAN | Ayala Corporation Preferred Shares - B (ACPR) | 10,000 | 64th | 1,015,000 |
| DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL | PHINMA Corp. (PHN) | 159,575 | 19th | 2,122,348 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF JUAN DE DIOS | PHINMA Corp. (PHN) | 153,880 | 20th | 2,046,604 |
| RELIGIOUS OF THE VIRGIN MARY | PHINMA Corp. (PHN) | 58,975 | 52nd | 784,368 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA | Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA) | 78,846 | 9th | 3,469,224 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (REAL CASA DE MISERICORDIA) | Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA) | 13,067 | 18th | 574,948 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA (HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN DE DIOS) | Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA) | 8,317 | 24th | 365,948 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (HOSPICIO DE SAN JOSE) | Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA) | 1,898 | 66th | 83,512 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (MAYORDOMIA DELA CATEDRAL) | Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA) | 841 | 97th | 37,004 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA | ISM Communications (ISM) | 38,399 | 48th | 126,333 |
| SOCIETY OF THE DIVINE WORD | Filipino Fund Inc. (FFI) | 6,000 | 24th | 48,000 |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF BANGUED | Filipino Fund Inc. (FFI) | 1,500 | 49th | 12,000 |
| CATHOLIC WOMENS LEAGUE | Benguet Corp. - A (BC) | 215 | 53rd | 4,107 |
| CORPORACION DE PADRES DOMINICOS | EEI | 75,000 | 75th | 256,500 |
* Rank in Top 100 – rank in the Top 100 Stockholders of the Company, a report submitted by the company to the PSE
** Total Investment Value – peso value of total shares owned, as of May 27, 2011 closing prices
Source: Company reports submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange
