GSIS appoints OIC after Veloso suspended over ₱1.4-billion Alternergy deal
By Derco Rosal
Juliet M. Bautista and Wick Veloso
The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has appointed Juliet M. Bautista as officer-in-charge after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso and six other executives over the ₱1.45 billion purchase of preferred shares from Alternergy Holdings Corp. (AHC) in November 2023.
In a statement released on Tuesday, July 22, the GSIS said it has acted “promptly to ensure business-as-usual across all services and core operations. All programs, member transactions, and benefits delivery remain fully operational and uninterrupted.”
Based on a seven-page order dated July 11 and released Tuesday, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of Veloso, along with six other officials, including Executive Vice Presidents Michael Praxedes and Jason Teng, Vice Presidents Aaron Samuel Chan and Abigail Cruz-Francisco, Officer II Jaime Leon Warren, and Acting Office IV Alfredo Pablo.
The anti-graft body said there were “sufficient grounds” to place Veloso and six other GSIS officials under preventive suspension, citing “strong evidence” of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and violations of office rules.
On Monday, July 21, Bautista, who serves as the executive vice president for support services, was designated as the OIC to “temporarily assume the responsibilities of [Veloso] to provide steady leadership and assure continued service to all members and pensioners.”
Bautista is a certified public accountant (CPA) with over two decades of experience in auditing, accounting, and financial systems. She previously headed GSIS’s internal audit office, where she played a key role in securing international service quality (ISO) certifications for service quality and data protection.
According to the GSIS Board, “safeguarding the institution’s integrity and protecting members’ funds remain its highest priorities.”
“Investments in governance reforms and strong internal controls are ongoing to further reinforce system resilience and transparency,” the GSIS said.