Protesting employees of the Social Security System (SSS) were jubilant yesterday over President Arroyo’s designation of accounting and audit expert Corazon de la Paz as new president of the state pension fund, replacing beleaguered Vitaliano Nañagas II.
The President designated Nañagas chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) vice Ernest Leung who will be given a new assignment.
SSS officials and employees vowed to support their new boss who came out of retirement to accept the President’s offer for her to head the agency.
SSS media affairs manager Joel Palacios said Nañagas expressed his gratitude and respected Malacañang’s decision.
"Mr. Nañagas is a professional and has no hard feelings toward the employees. He is just saddened by the turn of events and hopes that the new SSS leadership will benefit everybody," Palacios said.
Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said De la Paz was a personal choice of Mrs. Arroyo.
He said among the first directives Mrs. Arroyo gave to De la Paz was to pursue the administrative charges filed by Nañagas against three ranking officials of the SSS before the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission.
Charged were executive vice president Horace Templo, senior vice president Edgar Solilapsi and international loans department head Lilian Marquez.
Tiglao said Mrs. Arroyo instructed Camacho and De la Paz to ensure the speedy investigation of the cases against the three SSS officials implicated in an alleged behest portfolio investments during the Estrada administration.
Tiglao also said the new SSS chief is a "much-respected executive in the business community."
"She has vast experience as an auditor and management consultant," Tiglao said.
Mrs. Arroyo offered earlier the energy portfolio to De la Paz, but she begged off, citing as reason conflict of interest because her accounting firm serves as consultant to the Department of Energy for various power projects.
The President subsequently named Vicente Perez as her energy secretary.
De la Paz retired last June as chairwoman and senior partner of the Joaquin Cunanan and Co./Price-Waterhousecoopers.
She has a master’s degree in business administration from the Cornell University and topped the 1972 accounting board examinations.
She has been an active member of various business organizations including the influential Makati Business Club where she sits as treasurer, and trustee of Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc..
Mrs. Arroyo admitted that the transfer of Nañagas to the DBP was part of a so-called "peace formula" crafted by Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho to end the workers’ unrest at the state pension fund.
The President pointed out that the SSS, being one of the government-run financial institutions under the finance department is being supervised by Camacho.
"We always look at what is appropriate for a specific situation. But there are always Cabinet members in charge of each of these things," she said.
Tiglao said the President cited Nañagas for initiating reforms at the SSS.
"She is confident that with his long experience as a banker, Mr. Nañagas will contributed immensely to the operations and growth of the government’s premier development bank," he said.
"She emphasized that these reforms to make the institution more efficient and to rid it of corruption will be pursued by the new president," Tiglao said.
He also said no administrative sanctions will be imposed on SSS employees who joined the protest actions against Nañagas.
With the ouster of Nañagas, normalcy returned to the SSS as the striking employees went back to their posts. The employees have banded themselves into the Alert and Concerned Employees for Better SSS (ACCESS) to seek the ouster of Nañagas.
"We are happy that Malacañang finally stepped in to settle the issue. Still we will go back to our work to normalize the situation after the announcement that Mr. Nañagas has been replaced and that the SSS will not be privatized," the employees said in a statement.
Violence nearly erupted last night at the SSS premises after the agency’s newly appointed security chief ordered the striking employees to disperse.
Nañagas sacked his security chief who was reportedly sympathetic to the strikers.
The protesters defied the order of the new security chief and vowed to maintain their picket at all costs.
Only the announcement by ACCESS leaders that Nañagas was on the way out prompted them to lift their picket.
"Any sign of bad faith on the part of the Arroyo administration will definitely bring us back to the picket lines. We have proven that we have the strength enough to compel the administration to listen to us," they said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Manuel Villar filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the ouster of Nañagas.
"We must find out what triggered the demonstrations that led to Mr. Nañagas’ removal from office," Villar said.
He said the probe was meant to help assure the millions of SSS members that they will get more benefits under the new leadership.
On the proposed privatization of the SSS, Villar said the country may not be prepared for it yet.
Villar hailed the appointment of De la Paz, saying she is a "respected figure" in the business community.
On the other hand, Nañagas" experience as a banker will be put to good use at the DBP, Villar added.
Employees of the SSS Northern Luzon cluster who have been staging protest rallies over the past three days celebrated the ouster of Nañagas.
The striking personnel who resisted the proposed privatization and dared possible sanctions by the Civil Service Commission went back to work yesterday morning. They cheered their victory inside the SSS building on Harrizon road in Baguio City, as text brigades spread the news to their friends and sympathizers.
"We’re back to normal operations," a local SSS official said.
"We hope that the issue of privatization died with the removal of Nañagas., but we remain vigilant against future plants that will endanger our security," he added.
The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said it will maintain its vigilance until the government dropped its plan to privatize the SSS.
KMU spokesman Sammy Malunes said SSS officials have expressed suspicions that De la Paz might pursue the plan initiated by Nañagas.
"The people should demonstrate strong resistance against the government’s general economic policies aimed not at improving the people’s livelihood, but serving the interest of big business," he said.
For its part, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said the removal of Nañagas "is a good opportunity to start a serious probe on corrupt practices besetting the SSS, most especially the complicity of certain officials in allowing the use of SSS funds to save ailing companies of presidential cronies and various projects of previous administrations." — With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Nestor Etolle, Sandy Araneta, Mayen Jaymalin, Aurea Calica, Artemio Dumlao