Court stops GSIS from selling CTPL

The Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a preliminary injunction yesterday stopping the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) from taking over the compulsory insurance of private motor vehicles.

In a 13-page decision, Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin of the Appellate Court’s Special 17th Division ruled that the government order giving GSIS the sole privilege to issue compulsory third party liability (CTPL) insurance for private vehicles must stop indefinitely.

The stoppage came after a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Court’s Fifth Division expired last Sept. 30.

The Court said it would be in effect until it rules with finality on the case.

It will be recalled that the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) issued last year Department Order 2007-28 that integrates the CTPL into the registration of motor vehicles at the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

Private insurance companies protested the integrated system, saying it would result in the CTPL becoming a monopoly of a single insurance company – the GSIS – and would take away P5-billion worth of business from the private sector.

Insurance agents belonging to the Bukluran ng mga Manggagawa sa Industriya ng Seguro (BMIS), Alliance of Non-Life Insurance Workers of the Philippines (Alliance) and the Movement for the Upliftment of Non-Life Insurance (MUNLI) petitioned the CA, saying the government order would take away their legitimate source of living.