CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/1 Dec) – Nanay Rosa Gorima, 63, has been a street sweeper here for at least 20 years and she was inconsolable upon learning that her application for loan at the Government Service Insurance System could not be granted as her agency, according to the GSIS, has been delinquent in remitting its contribution.
In its statement, GSIS said it has not received contributions for some members from their employers, the reason the members could not apply for loans nor receive dividends.
Gorima’s employer is among 287 government agencies the GSIS has suspended for delinquency. The list of delinquent agencies supposedly include local government units, local water districts and government-owned and controlled corporations which owed the government insurance firm a whopping P2.38 billion of unremitted contributions plus interest.
The GSIS, however, did not name the delinquent agencies in their statement.
Also in the statement, GSIS admonished the heads of delinquent government agencies that they may be held administratively liable for delaying the remittance of contributions.
The GSIS is mandated to cover the insurance of all government workers, be they regular or contractual employees. Except, however, with members of the Judiciary and Constitutional Commissions, contractual employees and uniformed members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
The GSIS is also mandated to provide and administer the pension fund for social security benefits, including compulsory life insurance, optional life insurance, retirement benefits and disability benefits for work-related accidents and death benefits.
To aid Gorima and others of the same predicament, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District), with his brother Abante Mindanao partylist Rep. Maximo Rodriguez, filed a resolution to investigate the reports that some 25,454 members of GSIS could not apply for loans nor receive dividends.
House Resolution 1887 directs the Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization to conduct an inquiry on the issue.
“We need to look into this and determine who are responsible for this. We believe that sanctions should be added so that this will not happen again,” Rufus Rodriguez said.
He added that there is a need to investigate where the remittances went and if these anomalies could lead to filing of criminal charges to those who are responsible.
“What is at stake here is the hard-earned money of our government employees who in good faith believe that their contributions are being remitted regularly and believe that they are insured and have benefits waiting for them if the need arises,” Maximo Rodriguez said.
As for Gorima, her Christmas will definitely be bleaker than the years before, especially with the recent hike of basic commodities.
“I just hope that Congress can catch whoever is responsible for this so that at least next year things will be different,” she said in the dialect. (Cong B. Corrales / MindaNews)