GSIS cancels policy on delayed payments

MANILA, Philippines - State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced that beginning July 2013, government employees working in agencies who are delayed or deficient in their premium payments will not have their loan privileges suspended anymore.

The new policy also provides remedial guidelines for agencies already suspended so that their employees’ GSIS privileges can be restored.

On April 25, the GSIS board approved a new policy which addressed agencies’ non-remittance of premium contributions, without resorting to the suspension of the loan privileges of its employees.

“It’s wrong that these employees lose their access to GSIS loan windows and dividends when their social insurance contributions are mandatorily deducted from their salaries,” said GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara.

“This is a welcome development because public school teachers heavily depend on GSIS loans to pay for the schooling of their children. We are so glad that the new GSIS board is implementing  reforms in their policies to help small earners among government employees make both ends meet,”   Benjie Valbuena, president of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and  Manila Public School Teachers’ Association (MPSTA) said upon hearing the news.