President Benigno Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
President Benigno Aquino III on Monday said he did not expect to receive a full pension credit when he steps down from office in 2016 because by then, he would have served in the government for only 18 years and six months.
That would be short one year and six months from the required 20 years for a government employee to receive a full pension.
The President said he would retire from government service four years and three days from today (May 29, 2012).
But before his term ends, Mr. Aquino expects more reforms that would result in wider services and more benefits for government workers, he told employees in ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) held at the GSIS gym in Pasay City.
He said that when he came into office in 2010, he made sure the GSIS mandate would be strengthened, noting that the institution had become a tool of some people in power who had used government money “for their own selfish agenda.”
“After two years, we now feel the reforms—wider services and more benefits for the 1.7 million members and pensioners of the GSIS,” he said.
Among these reforms, he said, are the 500 automated processing system kiosks—set up with the help of the National Statistics Office and local civil registry—for the benefit of aged and ailing GSIS members who find difficulty in going to the institution’s main office to transact business.
Members can also get their loans and benefits through the 1,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) of Landbank and 224 ATMs of the Union Bank of the Philippines, the President said.
“Aside from this, there are more people who can receive survivorship benefits, as this now covers the employed spouse of a deceased member or members who had received pensions from other institutions,” he said.
The President also said the National Museum will soon take over the administration of the GSIS’ elaborate art collection so that the latter can concentrate on its original mandate.
“My appeal is for you to remain focused on your mandate. Let us continue working well and for sure, we can go far,” he told the GSIS employees.
Mr. Aquino also disclosed that the government, with the help of the GSIS, will release P25 billion—“the biggest fund it will put out for the country’s infrastructure,” in July.
The President said the government will launch in July the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure, where the GSIS will lead in establishing the fund that will be managed by the Macquarie Group.