House eyes probe of GSIS investments
gsis
MEASURES that seek to investigate the alleged irregular investments and inefficiencies of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) have been filed at the House of Representatives.
House Resolutions 1705 and 1706 were filed by the Makabayan bloc on Monday, urging the Committees on Government Enterprises and Privatization and Civil Service and Professional Regulation to investigate, in aid of legislation, possible violations of its laws, rules and regulations that expose the contributions of government employees to high risks, as well as to lower its usurious interests and penalties imposed to its members.
Members of the bloc are ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Danniel Manuel.
In a statement, Castro said that the GSIS’s interest rates and the penalties imposed on the loan accounts of its members have caused drastic diminution of their benefits.
“The GSIS must immediately junk its policies that impose usurious interests and penalties on the loans of its members,” Castro said.
HR 1706 noted there were cases in which some teachers, as in the case of Clarita Aclado, took out loans and allowed the government insurer to automatically deduct her monthly loan payments from her payroll, her loan still incurred penalties and delinquencies due to alleged late payment and default.
“Usurious Interest and penalties imposed by the GSIS to the loans of its members are eating up most, if not the entirety, of the retirement benefits of the retirees is a common issue confronted by many public school teachers and other government employees. Worse, the GSIS neither notify its members about their delinquencies nor the interest and penalties they are already imposing on their unpaid balances,” according to HR 1706.
HR 1705, meanwhile, noted that the Commission on Audit (CoA) Supervising Auditor of the GSIS had issued an audit observation memorandum revealing that the state insurer invested a total of P2.308 billion in the stocks of Alternergy Holdings Corp., SP New Energy Corp. and Bank of Commerce.
CoA said the stocks have “no proven track record of profitability over the last three years and payment of dividends at least once over the same period contrary to Section 36 (h) of Republic Act (RA) No. 8291, exposing the significant amount of members’ contributions to high risk that the actuarial solvency of the fund may not be ensured.”
Castro said that these irregular investments may expose the contributions of government employees to higher risks.
“We need to investigate these investments and ensure that the GSIS is transparent and accountable in its dealings. We must protect the pension funds of our government employees and workers from inefficient and/or corrupt practices,” Castro said.