MANILA, Philippines -- The House of Representatives wants Celso delos Angeles, the man allegedly behind the Legacy financial scam, to personally explain the collapse of his rural banks and preneed insurance company.

"[Sto. Domingo, Albay] Mayor Angeles should definitely be invited,'' said Bayan Muna (People First) Representative Teodoro Casiño, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

Casiño said no less than a personal appearance by Delos Angeles would appease the thousands of depositors and preneed clients victimized by his allegedly fraudulent business scheme.

The lawmaker said he would follow up with the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries the schedule of the hearing on the Legacy group soon and push for invitations to be sent to top Legacy officials, specifically Delos Angeles.

In a press statement, House Speaker Prospero Nograles said: ?We have to hear from Mr. Delos Angeles, the Bangko Sentral [Central Bank] and all other stakeholders in the banking sector so that we can have a clear picture on what really caused the closure of our rural banks.?

But Nograles said the House was not singling out the Legacy group, considering that 400 rural banks had declared bankruptcy.

"The Congress probe is not limited to subject matter and scope because it is generic and meant to find out what went wrong and to make legislations, either new ones or amendments to existing law,'' said Nograles.

Makati Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr. also pushed for the immediate probe of what he dubbed the "Celso delos Angeles Legacy scam.''

"Celso de los Angeles milked it [the Legacy group of rural banks], thinking it was a cow. The mafia in PDIC [Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.] took a dive for Celso delos Angeles, '' said Locsin.

Locsin said the Legacy scam was the biggest stumbling block to a plan by the PDIC to double bank deposit insurance to P500,000, a move meant to ensure the stability of the banking system in these hard times.

He said jacking up the insurance coverage from the current P250,000 per depositor would only benefit Delos Angeles. "No amount of press release will change the effect of the law that he [Delos Angeles] will benefit from it,'' said Locsin.

Locsin admitted there was little safeguard against scammers taking advantage of the PDIC insurance coverage to implement a pyramiding scheme in the banking industry.

"The only safeguard against a repetition of the Celso delos Angeles-Legacy group scam is the prosecution of the Celso delos Angeles-Legacy group. If we don't prosecute them successfully, this scam will only continue,'' said Locsin.

Locsin said he favored a proposal by Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. to allow the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] to pry into a bank deposit with or without the permission of its owner as long as the details of the account are not published.

"What does it matter if the BSP knows, as long as it catches a pattern of cheating?'' said Locsin.

Delos Angeles is the owner of 13 banks with 29 branches nationwide under the Legacy banner.

In 2008, the BSP shuttered the Rural Bank of Parañaque; Rural Bank of Bais (in Negros Oriental province); Pilipino Rural Bank (in Cebu); Rural Bank of San Jose (in Batangas); Philippine Countryside Bank (in Cebu); Dynamic Bank (Rural Bank of Calatagan, in Batangas); San Pablo City Development Bank; Nation Bank (in Bacolod City) and the Bank of East Asia (in Cebu) due to insolvency.

The Legacy group allegedly amassed between P15 billion and P25 billion in deposits over the last three years due to an aggressive marketing scheme, which promised depositors 20 percent in annual returns. To address risk concerns, the cash deposits are spread out through the Legacy chain of banks to keep each deposit within the maximum limit of the PDIC.

Aside from its bank, the Legacy group likewise filed a petition for voluntary dissolution with the Securities and Exchange Commission due to liquidity problems.

The group comprises pre-need firm Legacy Consolidated Plans Inc., Legacy Card Inc., One Realty Corp., Galacy Realty and Holdings Inc., Legacy Consolidated Asset Holdings Inc., Fusion Capital Corp., Conventional Realty Corp., Shining Armour Property Inc., Legacy Motors Inc. and Scholarship Plan Phils. Inc.

The group reportedly closed its Makati and Quezon City offices last December 8. Delos Angeles entered the preneed business in 1997 when he acquired Scholarship Plans Philippines Inc. (SPPI) and Legacy Plans Inc.