Drilon: GSIS coverage should include barangay officials

We wish to dispute the allegations in the Feb. 14, 2013 article written by Paolo Romero and published in The Philippine STAR, claiming that Liberal Party (LP) Senators, particularly Sen. Franklin Drilon, blocked the passage of the proposed measure granting lump-sum retirement benefits to barangay officials and employees.

Contrary to the statements made by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, the passage of the bill was not opposed by Sen. Drilon, who rightly inquired into the fiscal propriety of the measure. Upon the concurrence of Sen. Bongbong Marcos — the sponsor of the measure in the Senate — the bill was deferred pending a comprehensive actuarial report on its fiscal ramifications. Curiously, while Rep. Suarez belittles the grant of a P75,000 lump sum pay to qualified individuals, even Sen. Marcos admitted in plenary that the measure will require billions of pesos in public funds.

Finally, we wish to point out that Sen. Drilon recognizes the vital role played by the barangay in nation-building. To this end, Sen. Drilon introduced on July 17, 2012 Senate Bill No. 3232, which sought to expand the coverage of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to include qualified barangay officials and employees so they can enjoy the benefits of GSIS membership like retirement and salary loans. — Atty. OSCAR G. YABES, Chief of Staff, Office of Sen. Franklin M. Drilon