GSIS holds dialogue with stakeholders

FORMER Negros Occidental governor and now Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) chairman Daniel Lacson led a dialogue with stakeholders in Bacolod City on Friday.

In November 2010, just a few months into office, Lacson and GSIS President and General Manager Robert Vergara held nationwide dialogues with their stakeholders to listen to their issues and concerns.

Negros was the first province visited by the GSIS executives.

“We made three promises to our stakeholders from the very beginning…to be more consultative, transparent and service-focused,” Lacson said.

Vergara said that among the reforms the new leadership has implemented are the cancellation of the annual renewal of status for pensioners, relaxing the eligibility requirement for survivorship pension, renewed partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines as an additional service partner, and deployment of 500 kiosks in all provincial capitols, city and municipal offices and large government agencies, such as the Department of Education (DepEd).

Vergara said the pension fund is implementing the new minimum basic pension of P5,000 for more than 57,000 old-age and disability pensioners, as announced by the President in his state of the nation address last July.

“We have also released P286 million in refund as of February this year covering more than 45,000 pensioners, under the new policy on payment of proportionate pension,” he added.

Vergara said the body that GSIS is doing everything possible to update the records of its more than 1.3-million active members.

One of the initiatives toward this goal is the Statement of Loan Account (Sola) project, which aims to update the loan accounts of retiring members aged 59 years old and above to ensure the early release of their retirement benefit.

He also said that the pension fund continues to engage suspended agencies and local government units to restore the full benefits of their employees.

“As of last month, GSIS has signed agreements with 111 agencies and LGUs which reinstated the loan privileges of more than 800,000 state workers.”

PGM Vergara assured that the System’s actuarial life is until 2046 “which means that GSIS can pay out the benefits of its members and pensioners as and when they fall due.”

GSIS is also working closely with both Houses of Congress to amend its charter, Republic Act 8291, to institutionalize responsive service.

The proposed amendments include a members’ bill of rights, designation of beneficiary by single members before age 50, increase in funeral benefit to P30,000 and the removal of the four-year prescription for claims.