Nbi takeover?

Quite expectedly, the plight of Louie Gonzalez and the untimely death of Federico Delgado in the hands of an unknown assailant remained one of the hottest conversation topics even during the Holy Week break.

Mere mention of the names of the two gentlemen, both from highly esteemed families, immediately evoked sighs of sadness and regret among our coffee shop colleagues: Federico, because his passing away meant the loss of one so young and so promising; Louie, because of the apparent orchestrated bid to make a scapegoat out of him in relation to the death of Federico.

There are two more gentlemen who the kibitzer community is worried about. These are Police Chief Inspector Alexander Yanquiling Jr., the head of the team investigating Federico’s death; and, Dr. Jon Edward Jurilla of the Makati Medical Center , the brave psychiatrist who is fast becoming an icon of sorts after deciding to risk his name and career for what many perceive as truth.

Many are sad and worried for the police officer and the doctor. The concern stemmed from the last piece we wrote about the Federico’s death where we pointed out that the present direction of the investigation could pit the two gentlemen against one another, putting both their professional reputations on the line.

We underscored that Dr. Jurilla has put much at stake by attesting that Louie Gonzalez was at the heavily-secured rehabilitation facility of the Makati Medical Center two days before and eight days after Federico’s death was reported. Dr. Jurilla, we were told, is well-known in the local neurosciences field, a by-word in the treatment of various types of psychosis, anxiety and depression.

The dominant view is that Dr. Jurilla has nothing to gain personally and professionally by attesting to the impossibility of the theory that Louie may have left the vault-like hospital facility to perpetrate a crime. Dr. Jurilla is self-made.

Our colleagues, however, were also quick to point out that Yanquiling also has a lot of professional stake in this case in trying to prove that Dr. Jurilla’s assertion that Louie Gonzalez was at the Makati Med at the time of Federico’s death is not true.

Yanquiling is actually armed with a doctorate degree and is best remembered for having returned P900,000 belonging to a slain Chinese trader.

Now, this makes the "family feud" angle in the death of Federico even more tragic. We not only have to grieve with two highly-respected Filipino clans; we also have to grieve over the possible dent in the professional reputations of two good, possibly great Filipinos: doctors Jurilla and Yanquiling.

The snowballing view now is for a strategy that would do two important things: ensure that justice is given to Federico and Louie; and, ensure that the reputation of the two doctors are protected and preserved, not just for their sake but for also for that of this hero-starved nation.

The view is that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should now step into the Federico Delgado slay case. That the police should now graciously relinquish the investigation work and let the NBI start with a clean slate. No pre-conceived angles. No tele-novela fascination. No playing to the media. Just plain and simple criminal investigation of an untimely death.

An NBI takeover would relieve both families a lot of pain. And will also help restore the credibility of the investigation.

Pension payment improved

Beginning January this year, GSIS instituted a new system whereby pensioners can now get their monthly pension payments from the ATMs located in convenient places throughout the country through the GSIS eCard Plus.

This shift in the pension payment system has understandably generated resistance from pensioners who felt inconvenienced by the necessity of reporting to a GSIS office and applying for an eCard.

As for those still mobile and able to travel, the GSIS says that their physical presence is necessary to establish their identity, get their photographs and more important for fingerprint scanning. The fingerprint biometrics and photo will be imprinted on the GSIS eCard to ensure its authenticity. Of course as in all ATM cards, the card owner will be issued an access number that is confidential and which only the owner will know.

The eCard Plus has many advantages over the obsolete check system. Checks are oftentimes delayed through the mails. Sometimes they are pilfered and cashed by persons other than the legal payee. The pensioner also has to go to a bank to have it cashed. As the check is crossed, the payee will still have to wait three days before getting his cash.

Even after receiving his eCard Plus, it may take some time before the pensioner can withdraw his pension from the ATM, as the pension due must still be remitted to his account in the UnionBank which is the depository of GSIS pension funds. But this only takes one or two weeks at most. After receiving the first payment, it’s all a breeze in claiming the pension.

GSIS pensioners in the US can apply for their eCard Plus from the GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (G-W@PS) kiosk located in the Philippine consular offices at Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Chicago. Once they receive their eCards, they can withdraw their pensions in US dollars from any ATM under the Visa Plus networks.

Furthermore, eCard Plus users in the US need not report to the GSIS offices annually as they can just insert their eCard in the G-W@PS kiosk to register for their annual registration.

In the Philippines, pensioners have raised objects that they have to report to a GSIS office annually to prove that they are still alive and to establish their residence. However, GSIS explains that this is necessary because in the past the pension fund was drained by the fraudulent encashment of checks by non-payees and by overpayment. The annual physical reporting has prevented fraud and thus saved GSIS from millions of pesos in illegal payments.

As for those who cannot report physically because of advanced age or illness, as in the case of the eCard enrollment, they will be entitled to "home visit" by the GSIS medical team and representative.

Thus all these inconveniences and hassles that are suffered by GSIS pensioners as the system shifts to the era of high IT are merely the unavoidable birth pangs that occur in any transition in life.

GSIS, led by its president Wilson Garcia, ought to be commended rather than condemned for having the political will to push the GSIS to the electronic age. In the long run, the pensioners will be benefited by the shift, and will come to thank the GSIS for pushing through the reform.

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