Malacañang shelved yesterday any decision on the dismissal of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) president and general manager Winston Garcia.
The Palace said any action will be based on the result of the performance review of all government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs).
Press Secretary and spokesman Ignacio Bunye said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will await the findings and recommendations of Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong before making any decision.
Amatong heads the group that reviews the performance of the heads of GOCCs and GFIs.
"Ayaw lang natin pangunahan iyong department head
(We don’t want to pre-empt the DoF head),’’ he said in a radio interview.
There is mounting public clamor for the President to fire Garcia due to alleged mismanagement in the state insurance firm.
The GSIS is one of the GFIs now under "performance review’’ by the Department of Finance (DoF) following allegations that the government’s financial hemorrhage was due to the profligacy and mismanagement of GOCCs and GFIs.
Garcia receives a salary and other benefits amounting to at least
R500,000 monthly.
Some lawmakers have demanded the immediate dismissal of Garcia, whom they have accused of allegedly mismanaging the government workers’ pension fund. Among others, he is charged with having unliquidated and unauthorized
R3.4-million cash advances in his first five months in office.
Others have been outraged by reports that Garcia, son of former Cebu governor Pablo Garcia, has received a monthly pay much higher than what the President receives.
Garcia was earlier investigated by the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) following complaints that he took liberties with the pension fund, and that fund shortages resulted in the freezing of loan applications and benefit claims.
The embattled GSIS chief said GSIS’ computerization program was to blame for the suspension of loan applications and benefit claims. Later on, he cited the non-remittance of premium contributions of government agencies as another reason for the freeze.
GSIS also purchased Juan Luna’s "Parisian Life’’ and other paintings for a total of
R53.352 million. The Commission on Audit (CoA) found these purchases to be "highly irregular.’’
Included in the PAGC probe were complaints lodged by the Kilusang Mangagawa ng GSIS (KMG). The KMG charged that Garcia made unliquidated and unauthorized cash advances amounting to some
R3.4 million in his first five months in office.
Garcia likewise allegedly established "costly, ineffective and unlawful’’ district offices and illegally hired law firms which GSIS pays a handsome service fee of about
R200,000. This violates the GSIS charter, KMG stressed. (Ferdie J. Maglalang)
Garcia’s GSIS loan
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) president and general manager Winston Garcia yesterday said he was treated "just like any ordinary member" of the GSIS when he applied and got his salary loan.
"That shows to you that I am not getting any extra privileges as president and general manager of GSIS in the matter of getting a salary loan. I was treated just like any ordinary member of GSIS," he said in reaction to the claim of party-list Akbayan and the Confederation of Independent Unions in the Private Sector that he "abused" his power when he got a salary loan from the GSIS a day after he filed an application.
Garcia explained that after the computerization program of the GSIS was completed, under his leadership, the GSIS was able to grant salary loans "even four hours after the filing of the application so long as the applicant’s papers are in order."
Garcia added his salary loan for
R2.1 million was subjected to the same 12 percent interest rate, service fees and charges and number of monthly installments, which the GSIS grants to all its bonafide members, mostly government employees.
According to Garcia, as early as February this year, the GSIS announced in newspaper advertisements its faster service for salary loan and retirement pension applications in accordance with the order of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
He also recalled the GSIS also declared that it could grant salary loans as fast as four hours after the application is filed, while applications for retirement and other benefits could be done within eight hours.
Garcia then said that from January to August 2004, the GSIS approved 1,825,811 applications for various loans totaling
R46.9 billion.
These included 430,705 applications for enhanced salary loans amounting to
R29.1 billion; 383,766 regular policy loans (R6.2 billion); 42,254 optional policy loans (R692.5 million); 33,124 emergency loan assistance (R560.7 million); 71,857 emergency/calamity loans (R641,4 million); 850,990 summer-one-month salary loans (R9.2 million); and 14,096 pension loans (R405.1 million).
"GSIS was able to grant these loans because of its increase in gross revenues from
R32 billion in 1997 to R75.2 billion in 2003, or an increase of more than 100 percent in the space of seven years. During the same period, GSIS increased its net revenues from R18.3 billion in 1997 to R37.5 billion in 2003. This is an unprecedented growth brought about by more competent and honest management," said Garcia. 
