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.