BATANG MAYNILA
Mayor Isko Moreno
I am proud and happy to report to my fellow workers in the city government of Manila that their long time fear of not being able to get any pension from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) once they retire from the service is now a thing of the past.
Just recently, we signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the GSIS wherein the thousands of city employees are assured of benefits via pension even if the city still owes the agency, once their retirement comes.
Under the normal scheme of things, an employer deducts from the employee’s salary a certain amount. This amount, in turn, is supposedly forwarded to the GSIS so that when the employee concerned retires, he or she may be able to get a pension from the institution.
Sadly, in the case of Manila City Hall employees, it will be recalled that when we assumed office last year, we were aghast to find out that the city government owed the GSIS some P195million.
Shocking as it may seem, the poor, innocent employees were left in a situation where they won’t be able to get anything from the GSIS of and when they retire.
If we do not remit the share that is supposed to go to the GSIS, the employees will be adversely affected and suffer the likelihood that they will not be able to enjoy their pension.
Normally, those who are not updated cannot get any pension unless they fill the gaps in payment to the GSIS.
It is for this reason that we are trying to straighten out things and rectify the situation, though no fault of ours.
We know and fully understand how our city workers have been living in constant fear, especially those whose retirement are up soon.
It is precisely for this reason that our special thanks go of course, to the GSIS and our city personnel’s office which pains takingly went into the nitty-gritty of things which resulted
in the crafting of the MOA.
In it, the city government of Manila is able to save over P68.4 million, as the GSIS agreed to reduce the amount of Manila’s debt from P195 million down to P126 million.
The kindness of the GSIS does not end there. It also agreed to a staggered basis of payment.
Under the MOA, the city will begin paying its gargantuan debt monthly, beginning in January next year.
With this agreement now in place, the employees of Manila may sleep soundly, assured that they will get their pension should they decide to retire any day from today.
Although the monthly payments are yet to begin next year, the GSIS agreed that those who are retireable in October, November, or December will be treated as if their payments are updated. This means that their pension will not be affected.
This is the least that we in the city government can do for our dear city workers, especially those who have served the city and its people for decades.
They deserve to reap the fruits of their labor and enjoy their retirement somehow, after dedicating the most productive years of their lives in the service of the city and its residents.
What ever progress we enjoy today as a city, we owe it to them.
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Gaya ng paulit-ulit kong sinasabi, kailangan ko angtulong ninyong lahat Walang mag mamalasakit sa Maynila kundi tayo ding mga Batang Maynila. Manila, God first!
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