Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Cleansing Records

The GSIS has a new meaning. Do you know what is the new meaning? A frustrated member told me, "GSIS means Government Slow Insurance System". What a shame for a premier government financial institution organized, being operated, and maintained by the government to assure the welfare of government employees.

The GSIS used to operate efficiently, serve its millions of members promptly on time. However, its services deteriorated upon the assumption of Mr. Winston Garcia as general manager and president of the GSIS board.

Until a few months ago, the GSIS paid government pensioners every first day of each month of their respective monthly pensions. In year 2009, the GSIS management advised the government retirees that their monthly pensions will be paid every 8th day of each month. Of course, the payment is through the Union Bank which does not exist in the provinces of Aklan, Guimaras, Capiz, and Antique. Withdrawals of monthly pensions in these provinces are being made via the other banks which the GSIS members must pay P12.00 for every withdrawal and P3.00 for every inquiry. This is a diminution of the pension amount of the GSIS members.

Of course the "e-Card Plus" issued by Union Bank must be used in all transactions. The e-Card Plus must be validated annually. In case of lose, duplicate e-Card is issued at cost, and after payment.

This morning, Sept. 8, hundreds of Aklanon pensioners went home frustrated. They went home with empty pockets as their e-Cards have insufficient deposit. Some whose cellphone numbers are available with the GSIS office received text that informed them their monthly pension will be available on September 23, 2009. The GSIS is "cleansing" its records, it reasoned out.

Why? Are the GSIS records so dirty that cleansing is required?

Who dirtied it? Under Mr. Winston Garcia the GSIS has been consistently announcing to the world that all GSIS records are being computerized in accordance with the latest state of the arts in information and com-puterization technology.

The GSIS has shifted from the usual method of transacting business to the latest high technology method.

It has shifted to the use of e-Card Plus in paying the GSIS pension and other money transactions with its members.

The GSIS has been spending millions of the members’ money in its paid advertisement in all communication media like television, radio, newspapers, and internet telling the Filipinos the alleged innovations being done in the GSIS to improve the services for its members.

Today, GSIS begs to delay pension payments. It has spoiled, dirtied its records. It needs cleansing and must be cleansed.

After record cleansing, many are suggesting people in the GSIS management must be cleansed as well starting from Mr. Winston Garcia.

Garcia has stopped paying pensioners using bank checks which were believed very effective. Garcia junked the bank checks and shifted to e-Card Plus which is found costly, painful to the consumers, time consuming, and inefficient. Winston Garcia must leave the Government "Slow" Insurance System so that a person of integrity will replace him and restore the GSIS as an effective government financial institution. To kick him out of the GSIS is to reject the administration candidates in the May 2010 national and local elections, or reject candidates sympathetic to Garcia.

To the aged pensioners the hard earned monthly pension is becoming de-motivation because the GSIS (Government Slow Insurance System) is still "cleansing its records". /MP