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| GSIS, DepEd-ARMM and DBM ink MOA. Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President and General Manager Robert Vergara (seated, second from L), Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad (seated, third from L), and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman (seated, fourth from L ) signed and sealed the agreement to settle the premiums-in-arrears of almost 26,000 Department of Education employees in ARMM. The signing was witnessed by ARMM Secretary Jamar Kulayan (seated, first from left), GSIS Chairman Daniel Lacson, Jr. (seated, second from right) and DBM Asec. Tina Rose Marie Canda (seated, first from right). Joining them are DepEd Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francisco Varela (standing, fourth from left) and members of the GSIS Board of Trustees (standing from left) Gregorio Yu, Elisea Gozun, Atty. Geraldine Marie Berberabe-Martinez, Roman Felipe Reyes, Mario Aguja, Karina Constantino-David, and Romeo Alip. |
DBM will pay GSIS about P900 million in cash, 30 days after the signing of the supplemental memorandum of agreement (MOA), with the remaining P100 million to be paid over a period of one year.
The MOA supplements the earlier agreement signed in March 2004 by GSIS, DBM, and DepEd-ARMM to settle the unpaid premiums of 15,715 DepEd-ARMM employees.
Further, in March 2012, GSIS embarked on a project with the DepEd-ARMM to update its employees' service records. Changes in employee information, such as position, salary, assignment, and period of service were recorded in the GSIS database. This enabled the System to determine the correct premiums that the education department must remit to the GSIS, which now forms part of the latest supplemental MOA.
"As the computation of retirement benefits and loans is based on the length of service, it is imperative to update and reconcile the records of our DepEd-ARMM members to ensure they will receive the correct level of benefits upon their retirement or when they apply for a loan," GSIS President and General Manager (PGM) Robert G. Vergara said.
With the payment, around 26,000 DepEd-ARMM employees stand to receive higher loanable amounts and retirement benefits.
The MOA signing rites were held at the GSIS Central Office in Pasay City, with PGM Vergara, DBM Secretary Florencio B. Abad, and ARMM Governor Mujiv S. Hataman as principal signatories.
GSIS Board Chairman Daniel L. Lacson Jr., DepEd-ARMM Secretary Atty. Jamar Kulayan and DBM Assistant Secretary Tina Rose Marie Canda served as witnesses.
