We overpaid GSIS–Caloocan

Seeking closure to the issue that had almost led to his suspension, Mayor Enrico Echiverri on Friday submitted to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) the “reconciliation report” on the contributions made by the city government.

Echiverri personally handed over the document to GSIS President Robert Vergara at the agency’s head office in Pasay City as witnessed by other local officials. The documents, according to the mayor, indicated that the city was not only up to date in its premium payments from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2010 but had actually overpaid GSIS by over P3 million.

This, according to a City Hall statement, included contributions of 1,208 employees who were no longer in service. The documents were assessed by the reconciliation team that was earlier formed to determine the local government’s liability on the employees’ contributions.

Echiverri expressed hope that the submission of completed documents to the GSIS would clean up the mess in connection with the data on current employees of the local government.

“Hopefully the submission of these documents to the GSIS would bring an end to the baseless allegations that have been propagated by my political rivals for the purpose of besmirching my name,” Echiverri said in the statement.

Echeverri had earlier been ordered suspended for six months for the city’s failure to remit GSIS contributions, but the Court of Appeals issued a 60-day temporary restraining order against his suspension.

He said records of the local government showed that the remitted employees’ contributions to the GSIS have a surplus of P3,019,326.77 because even the supposed premiums of dead, retired, resigned, fired and transferred workers were included on the GSIS list.

He said the local goverment had never been remiss in forwarding employees’ contributions to the GSIS.

The six-month suspension order stemmed from the complaint of Vice Mayor Edgar Erice on the city’s failure to remit P38 million worth of contributions of the city employees to GSIS.

Erice said although a TRO has been issued, the case is not yet over because the investigation at the Ombudsman is still ongoing.

City administrator Russel Ramirez said the city had religiously paid the premium contributions of 1,565 active workers and 1,208 others who were no longer connected with the city government.

“Employees no longer in service were continuously charged and likewise, their non-payment was even included in the arrears and interests,” he raised.