GSIS catches Davide’s ire

Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. has assailed the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the glaring errors and discrepancies in its records of contributions made by judicial officials and employees.

In a letter dated May 28 to GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia, Davide took up the cudgels for the more than 27,000 court officials and employees who are being required to submit various documents to reconcile Supreme Court records with the GSIS computer databases on their contributions.

"Sadly, these letters insinuate that the judiciary, particularly the Fiscal Management and Budget Office (FMBO) and Office of Administrative Services (OAS), is remiss in its duties particularly in its remittances. But on the contrary, records on file in the offices concerned prove otherwise," the Chief Justice lamented. The GSIS letter sent to all court officials and employees was received on Jan. 5.

According to Davide, the FMBO — through the Cash Collection and Disbursement Division — has been "religiously and meticulously" remitting GSIS contributions and loan repayments or amortizations together with all the required attachments before the 10th day of each succeeding month to avoid penalty.

"The OAS likewise submits updated service record as the need arises," Davide said.

The GSIS directive requires employees in the judiciary to individually submit their service records, payments and copies of remittance lists together with corresponding GSIS official receipts duly certified by the authorized administrative or finance officers.

Davide pointed out that their directive was unreasonable. He said it is the GSIS’ premium and loan databases that are not updated, not the judiciary’s records.

It is also "virtually impossible," the Chief Justice said, for the more than 27,000 court employees to accomodate the request for each of them to issue the required documents starting from their date of entry in government.

Davide noted that the period of employment for some court employees has reached half-a-century.

The GSIS requirement "will entail additional workload and use of precious government time, as well as resources, to the damage and prejudice of our already overburdened employees and cash-strapped national government," Davide said.

The Chief Justice asked the GSIS to consider pertinent rules in settling the differences. "All doubts must be resolved in favor of the employees, who have dedicated the best years of their lives in the service of the government in the hope that the GSIS will secure their future when they can no longer financially fend for themselves," Davide said.

"Let the GSIS do what is expected (of them) and give the employees what is justly due them. This could have been avoided had the GSIS only exercised prudence and foresight," he said.