[ journal.com.ph ] September 6, 2008
CRITICS of the Government Service Insurance System cannot make a cause célèbre or a big issue out of the GSIS cracking the whip on the about 19,102 delinquent housing loan borrowers among its members.
GSIS executive vice president Enriqueta P. Disuanco issued this statement yesterday, saying that delinquent borrowers had been offered by the GSIS so many chances in the past to update their payments.
“The GSIS had about seven loan condonation programs, at least three under the administration of GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia,” said Disuanco.
“But the sad thing is that the delinquent borrowers had either shunned the loan condonation offers by GSIS or had returned to delinquency after having the penalties and surcharges of their condoned loans written off,” she stressed.
Disuanco said it would be unfair to the 1.3 million members of the GSIS, including the 41,000-or-so housing loan borrowers who religiously pay their dues, if the GSIS would not collect on the delinquent loans.
She said the majority of GSIS members would not want to be saddled with subsidizing the small group of delinquent borrowers “just because they are making a lot of noise.”
Nonetheless, the GSIS official said the state pension fund is always ready to lend a helping hand by giving delinquent borrowers first crack at buying back their foreclosed/cancelled units at affordable terms.
She said that the GSIS housing program, both for new borrowers and those restructuring their previous loans, offers a guaranteed lowest fixed interest rate of six (6) percent and multiple payment options (salary deduction, post-dated checks or over-the-counter), among other consumer-friendly features.
“With the SAIS Ang Interest Sa Lahat or SAIS program of the GSIS, members who used to pay interest rates ranging from eight (8) to 18 percent can now enjoy the lowest available housing rates in the market today at six percent,” Disuanco said.
She lamented that the GSIS is being unjustly pilloried in public by some groups, including Nabigkis and the Association of Concerned Teachers, through disinformation and the twisting of facts.
She cited as example the case of one Candida Tiglao, who had complained through ACT of her housing loan which had ballooned due to no fault of the GSIS.
“Ms. Tiglao sold the rights to a housing unit she secured through a loan with GSIS. She did not inform the GSIS about her transaction with a third party, who in turn did not live up to their agreement to take over from Ms. Tiglao the responsibility of paying her monthly amortization with the GSIS,” Disuanco said.
“She, thus, cannot blame the GSIS for collecting on her loan because it was her loan and nobody else’s,” she said.
Another alleged complainant raised by GSIS critics, one Manuel Soliven, proved to be a puzzler to the GSIS since in its data base, there are 10 Manuel Soliven, four from the Department of Education (DepEd).
A GSIS employee who checked on the status of all the Manuel Solivens in its data base found that one had already died and that all who should be getting their retirement benefits are, in fact, getting them.
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