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Thursday, January 29, 2015

GSIS opens service desk for 3 days in Zamboanga Sibugay

By Alma L. Tingcang

IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay - As part of the Government Service Insurance System’s efforts to bring its services closer to members and pensioners, the service desk has been extended from 2 to 3 days.

“Beginning this year, we have extended the stay of our service desk people here from 2 days to 3 days, that is, from January 26 – 28, 2014 and the schedule is every 3rd week of the month,” Engr. Leoncito S. Manuel, GSIS Pagadian branch manager said in an interview with PIA.

He said the service desk is situated at LGU Ipil particularly at the Human Resource department. “The service desk is like a small office which caters to the needs of members and pensioners. They can ask about our latest programs and policies, status of their pending transactions, submit applications  and other concerns relative to the state-run pension fund,” Manuel opined.

“The LGU of Ipil has requested for the deployment of another kiosk to better serve GSIS members and pensioners. We are also set to install a kiosk at the City Commercial Center (C3) in Pagadian City. We hope to deploy these kiosks very soon,” he said.

At present, there are 2 kiosks installed in Zamboanga Sibugay, one at the Provincial Capitol which is some distance away from the town proper. Drivers collect from P40-50/passenger while the other one is at the  Department of Education with drivers charging P20-25 for each passenger. With the deployment of a kiosk at Ipil LGU, it will be more accessible to GSIS clients.

“This year,  we are going to conduct a Pensioners’ Day on February 21, 2016.” Manuel said this would have been conducted last year but because of very tight schedule, it did not push through. The Pensioners’ Day coincides with the monthly meeting of Ipil Pensioners Confederation, covering the 16 municipalities of the province.

According to Engr. Manuel, the Pensioners’ Day celebration will be an opportunity for GSIS to inform pensioners of the latest policies and updates on the state pension fund.

It can be recalled that since 2013, all pensioners have been receiving no less than P5,000 every month. There is no single pensioner receiving below P5,000 monthly pension to date.

The Pensioners’ Day will also be a time for them to receive free medical services, blood sugar screening, vitamins and medicines, including free haircut. This is in coordination with the Department of Health 9 through Regional Director Dr. Nimfa B. Torrizo.

Another upcoming GSIS activity is the Public Sector Union (PSU) forum which will be conducted in Ipil sometime in May with 100 participants from Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur.

“I wish all GSIS members and pensioners of Zamboanga Sibugay, more than 7,000 of them, a happy and blessed new year!” Engr. Manuel said in closing.