GSIS out to settle legal battle with IBM Corp.

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement to end its P100-million damage suit filed last year against software giant IBM Corp. GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara told reporters the pension fund's board approved the plan after he led a group of senior executives in meeting IBM Philippines officials to try to hammer out a mutually acceptable settlement package. Vergara calculated that winning GSIS’s damage claim would result in each and every GSIS member being given only P65 in restitution which, he said, was a benefit “no more expensive than a fastfood chain's hamburger." “This will not be an out-of-court settlement," Vergara added. “We want the court to be present every step of the way." Pensioners’ complaints ‘are legend’ According to Vergara, the settlement plan was part of a broader goal to transform the GSIS into the most service-focused government entity there is over a reasonably short period. GSIS member complaints are legend, ranging from the non-posting of premium payments to the taking out of loans members had never applied for in the first place. Noting that complaints of GSIS members typically take two to six months to resolve, Vergara underscored the immediate goal of reducing the response time to only two weeks initially then to just one week. He also admitted the fund's data problems are quite acute. He said these could possibly be resolved in as little as five months but unfortunately no sooner than after some sort of settlement would have been made over its problems with IBM. “This thing with IBM will likely take a long time to resolve although the issues are being continuously pursued," Vergara said. — MRT/VS, GMANews.TV