by Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Oct 8 (PIA) – The
Autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, the Government Service Insurance System
and the Department of Budget and Management signed a memorandum of agreement
recently that crafted a straight deduction scheme from DBM to settle GSIS
payables by ARMM.
Samira A. Gutoc, chairperson of the committee
on education of the Regional legislative Assembly (RLA)-ARMM disclosed that for
the first time, the GSIS and the ARMM Government through the Office of the
Regional Governor, DepEd-ARMM and the RLA have taken major steps in addressing
some P1.7 billion unpaid remittances to the GSIS.
“It is a problem that is very longstanding,
and the recent MOA signing (resulting in the reopening of the Basilan and
Marawi accounts) with ARMM OIC Regional Governor Mujiv S. Hataman offers ARMM
personnel particularly our supposed "heroes"—the teachers (who mold
the next generation) the glimmer of hope after being in the “dark tunnel” for
decades,” Gutoc said.
She added that the MOA signing is indeed positive
news especially for teachers and retirees who have long been suffering and have
lost hope in government because of the absence of GSIS benefits.
The agreement was also timely as President
Benigno S. Aquino III has declared the period from September 5 to October 5 of
every year as National Teachers' Month. “This is a fitting gift for our
teachers, our hero,” Gutoc said.
Despite the pending 1.7 billion payable of
DepEd-ARMM, GSIS has taken the extra mile to reach out to the Bangsamoro
teachers by crafting a straight deduction scheme from DBM to settle GSIS
payables. The improved remittance scheme in the ARMM is the kind of problem-solving
the ARMM government sees beneficial and practical to address the problem.
Gutoc also claimed that the new GSIS
remittance scheme received positive feedback from the ARMM areas during the rounds
of the RLA’s public consultations on the Organic Act. “We have received
positive feedback when we announced the GSIS MOA on automatic deduction of
liability from DBM.”
“On behalf of the 15-member Committee on
Education, Arts, Culture and Sports Development and the ARMM Government, we
thank the GSIS and hope for similar MOAs are signed with other provinces of
ARMM,” she said.
Close to 1,600 teachers and employees from
the Department of Education in Basilan (DepEd-Basilan) who have been suspended
by the GSIS since 2004 due to the non-payment of their contributions, may now
enjoy their full benefits after the signing of a memorandum of agreement
between the Dep-Ed-Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the pension
fund last month.