Tuesday, April 08, 2008 Speak out: GSIS’ mission By Amado F. Cabaero
CONTRARY to its mandated mission, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has knowingly inflicted the worst kind of inhumanity to one of its members by unjustly denying Nane C. Bacani, a GSIS retiree, her pension from the time she retired in 1985, 23 years ago up to the present.
Last assigned as chief nurse in Speaker Daniel Romualdez Memorial Hospital in Tacloban City, Bacani was paid back only her premium payments plus interest or a total of P26,694.91, and nothing more, when she retired on March 15, 1985 after rendering 33 years of service.
All because the GSIS insists that Bacani was retired under Section 1(c) of Republic Act (RA) 1616, which covers retirees “with at least 20 years service” and entitled only “to a return of her contributions plus interest and a monthly gratuity for 24 months payable by her last employer.”
Why? Because “a member who has served more than 20 years can also qualify to retire under Section 1(c)) of RA 1616,” Estrella E. Colasito, GSIS area manager in Tacloban City, said in her letter to me dated Jan. 30, 2008.
But this disregards Section 1(b) of RA 1616, which is for “members who retire after rendering a total service of 30 years, regardless of age, to receive a monthly annuity for life,” under which Bacani is qualified to retire for having served 33 years.
But no, GSIS said in a letter on Jan. 8, 2008. It said “Section 1(b) is a provision under RA 660 which took effect June 16, 1951, and which provides for a monthly annuity benefit or a monthly pension benefit. Since Ms. Bacani retired under RA 1616, RA 660 therefore cannot be applied to her.”
But nowhere in RA 1616 is there any reference to RA 660. Both sections—sections 1(b) and 1(c)—are provisions of RA 1616, as shown in the copy of RA 1616 that we sent to Colasito on Jan. 23, 2008. Neither does RA 660 have a Section 1(b) or similar provision, as per copy of RA 660 that we also sent to her.
Furthermore, Colasito also said in her letter of Jan. 30, 2008 that “the heading of RA 1616, states that Section 12 of CA 186 was amended by “two other modes of retirement.” Shown under the heading were Sections 1(b) and 1(c).
However, Colasito strangely said “Paragraph (b) refers to RA 660 while paragraph (c) refers to RA 1616.” But the underscored sentence does not appear anywhere in RA 1616 nor in RA 660, and both sections are contained in RA 1616!
She explained in her letter of March 13, 2008 that “there are only four modes of retirement of GSIS including RA 8291 which amended PD 1146. The two other being RA 1616 and RA 660. Hence logically, the two other modes of retirement, which were prescribed by the Amended Section 12 of CA 186,…cannot refer to RA 1616 only.” With due respect and granting good faith to Colasito, I may not be an expert on anything, but by no stretch of the imagination can I see the logic of her “logical” reasoning.
This is the crux of our disagreement: While Bacani claimed that she was clearly covered by Section 1(b) of RA 1616 because she rendered a total of 33 years of service, Colasito kept insisting that Section 1(b) is a section of RA 660, which is not applicable to Bacani because she was retired under RA 1616; and that the section applicable to her is Section 1(c), which covers members who served at least 20 years, under which she was paid accordingly.
We presented the case of Bacani to GSIS president Winston Garcia. But he never showed interest in the case. He kept referring our letters back to Colasito who, in turn, routinely continued to deny Bacani’s claim. Apparently, there is no mechanism in GSIS for an independent review of decisions made in the field.
Bacani is a member of Philippine Association of Retired Persons (PARP), Cebu Chapter, and is now 80 years old, sick and unable to fight for her rights. At her request, we have studied her case and found her unjustly deprived of her lawful pension for nonsensical reasons. We, therefore, support her claim for payment of her due pension over the past 23 years, which should include all increases granted, plus interest and damages.
