Senators criticize unjust GSIS policies vs members

Unjust policies of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) are a burden to members who contribute their hard earned money to the pension fund, senators said Tuesday. "Taliwas sa dapat sana’y benepisyo, perhuwisyo ang isinusukli ng GSIS sa premium contributions ng kanyang mga kasapi (Instead of benefits that members should get for their premium contributions, the GSIS has vexed its members in return)," Sen. Teofisto Guingona said in his privilege speech at the Senate. Guingona stressed that the GSIS should remove its burdensome policies and review the GSIS Act of 1997 for possible amendments. If things do not improve, he said the government should abolish the agency. Under the fund’s Premium-based Policy, the benefits of members are based only on the amount equal to their contributions, while in the Automatic Premium Loan Policy members must pay should their office fail to pay or remit their contributions. Then there is also the Claims and Loans Interdependency Policy that allows the GSIS to reduce a member’s benefits on grounds that there are unpaid accumulated loans even though these loans are questionable. "Nauuwi sa pambayad ng mga utang ang dapat sana’y claims at benepisyo ng mga kasapi (The claims and benefits of members end up as payments for unpaid dues, which should have been claims and benefits )," Guingona said. Unexplained deductions Government employees are plagued with unexplained deductions in maturity claims — or retirement lump sum — and deductions in salary loans, according to Senator Loren Legarda. Members also suffer from non-payment of dividends, non-deduction of loan payments, questionable deductions of loan payments, and non-payment of funeral benefits and education plans, the senator added during her manifestation on the Senate floor. She said she received information that as of July 2010 the pension fund has been unable to post P6 billion in payments made by its members to their individual accounts. "The GSIS is the institution tasked to promote the efficiency and welfare of government employees. But with the current set-up, it has even become the source of their problems," Legarda said. More teachers’ benefits Meanwhile, Legarda asked the Senate to pursue the passage of laws that seek to promote the welfare of public school teachers in commemoration of World Teachers' Day on Tuesday. "Let us reaffirm our support for our teachers and other non-teaching personnel in the education sector in their continuous quest for proper recognition that goes beyond lip service," she said. She said that as legislators, the Senate should pass the following bills to provide better compensation packages, benefits, and privileges for the country's teachers:

• Senate Bill 1397, the Philippine Teachers’ Hospital Act
• Senate Bill 10, the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers
• Senate Bill 1429, Regionalizing the Department of Education Payroll System
• Senate Resolution No. 3, the Uniformed Personnel in the Military Service, and the Police Establishment, Teachers and Nurses

"We have about 500,000 public school teachers who seek higher remuneration. They demand that from the current Salary Grade 11 they be elevated to Salary Grade 15 and be provided with non-wage benefits, most importantly medical benefits," said Legarda. According to the senator, an entry-level teacher in the Philippines gets P14,000. This, she said, pales in comparison with the rates in Singapore (P122,400 or SGD$2,600), Japan (P77,889 or JY156,500), and Malaysia (P17,806 or RM1,300). Legarda said she plans to file a resolution that would push for the declaration of a National Teachers Day. "Our mentors also long to be recognized for the role that they perform in our society. Aside from guiding us through our academic growth, we call them our surrogate parents as they shape our values and teach us discipline," she said. —VS, GMANews.TV