Friday, June 06, 2008

Editorial - June 7, 2008 Issue

Garcia Doesn’t Deserve
Meralco Chair
During the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) stockholders’ meeting held last week, almost all eyes were focused at Mr. Manolo Lopez – chief executive officer of Meralco and Mr. Winston Garcia – chairman and chief executive officer of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). The meeting was held at the Meralco Head Office, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City.
Lopez and Garcia are the main protagonists in that boardroom war, the winner of which will control Meralco. During that Board War, the members of the media were barred. Even the Lopez owned ABS-CBN cooperated. Lopez won that war.
From the stockholders home court, the Securities and Exchange Commission joined the fray. It issued Temporary Restraining Order which Meralco Board of Directors dishonored. Now Garcia has brought the case to court. Why is Garcia so interested to take control of the Meralco? According to him, he will bring down the per kilowatt hour cost by way of good management. What good management Mr. Winston Garcia is talking about?
Let us look at Mr. Winston Garcia’s performance in the GSIS. Today, it is extremely difficult for a GSIS member to transact business with the GSIS. Loan remittances are not properly recorded. Remittances of premium payments are not properly recorded. Hence, GSIS records are only 30 percent accurate, 70 percent inaccurate. Those whose records belong to the 70 percent inaccurate either cannot renew their loans unless they pay for what they have already paid for. Those whose records belong to 70 percent inaccurate cannot receive their retirement benefits on their retirement dates. Or they will pay the GSIS for the premiums already paid as GSIS refuses to acknowledge because of faulty record keeping. Is this good management?
Mr. Winston Garcia questions the payments of systems loss from the electric consumers by the Meralco.
In the GSIS, Mr. Garcia has relieved the GSIS from paying the cost of pension delivery to and shifted it to the GSIS pensioners. According to the GSIS, paying the pensioners via the use of e-Card Plus will prevent fraud. Is this efficient management? GSIS pensioners are not in any position to commit fraud in the GSIS offices. It is only its officers and employees who are in a position to commit fraud. The use of Union Bank as depository bank of GSIS money is enabling Mr. Winston Garcia to make business out of pensioners’ fund which has greatly enlarged the business operations of Aboitiz owned Union Bank.
For every withdrawal of pensioner’s money at ATM booth, a P12 fee is automatically paid without question, without receipt. For every inquiry in the ATM booth, a pensioner pays three pesos. Mr. Garcia has shifted operational costs of GSIS to its GSIS members. Before Garcia, GSIS paid its pensioners by checks expenses of which were shouldered by the GSIS itself.
In the management of GSIS under Garcia, GSIS is keeping money of the members portion of which are the unacknowledged loan repayments, unrecorded membership fee remittances, members’ money that are not withdrawn from the Union Bank among others. This explains why Garcia boosts GSIS has enough money to buy out the Lopezes in Meralco.
Mr. Winston Garcia does not deserve board chairmanship of the Meralco, not until he improved the GSIS services to its members. /MP

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