Thousands of pensioners, especially elderly, are demanding authorities to look into their plight regarding difficulties on how to en-cash monthly pension checks coming from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

IRRESPONSIVE. Elderly members have to walk their way to claim their pension checks at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) which policies could not even spare this woman on whellchair to personally claim her check. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mounting complaints focused on the non-delivery of their checks during the past two months forced them to personally claim the checks at the local GSIS offices at the DBP building here. GSIS-Bohol manager Douglas Arturo Marigomen

Pensioners reported that since May this year they have not received pension checks which forced them to personally claim their checks at the local GSIS offices. But, what complicate matters is that GSIS do not honor special power of attorney (SPA) notarized by lawyers for senior citizens who are physically unfit to go all the way to the GSIS offices to claim their checks.

A visit made by a Chronicle team at the local GSIS office showed several elderly pensioners, some in wheelchairs, who have to wait long to claim their pension checks.

"The traveling expenses and the time incurred in going to the GSIS offices is already a lot of inconvenience on our part," the pensioners chorused in complaints registered in top rated dyRD public affairs programs, "Inyong Alagad," and "Pulso."

Asked for comment, Rep. Eladio Jala, chairman of the House committee on government enterprises said Congress told the Chronicle last Friday that Congress will momentarily wage an all-out drive to curb these discrepancies in the GSIS while admitting that the previous Congress has given vast powers to the GSIS board which governs the operation and function of the agency.

Rep. Jala said that even GSIS General Manager Winston Garcia has ignored invitations to appear before a congressional inquiry to answer these complaints from the pensioners.

The Cebuano GSIS general manager in ignoring the invitation of Congress invoked Executive Order 464, which according to the solon was already scrapped by the Supreme Court.

Rep. Jala said that with the attitude of Garcia, his committee will draft amendments to the existing law governing GSIS operations nationwide.

"If this is the kind of service the people gets from the agency, then a radical change should be instituted which might include a move to make GSIS membership already optional," the solon said even as admitted that such proposal has to be carefully studied.

GSIS remains in hot water, the solon said citing that the directors of the agency are abusing the authority vested on them, not to mention the fat allowances and lots of perks each director receives which are all derived from the contributions of the thousands of GSIS members nationwide.

Jala's statement was an apparent response to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan's move through a Resolution urging Bohol congressmen to petition Garcia "for a congressional inquiry" on the GSIS mess.

The general resolutions and ordinances committee chaired by board member Ma. Fe C. Lejos of the SP strongly indorsed the said Resolution for the Boholano congressmen to act on the issue.

Recently, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bohol chapter has passed Resolution No. 02 urging GSIS to correct the "highly anomalous and unreasonable system of having only one bank with one automated teller machine to serve more than 4,000 GSIS members.

The city sanggunian followed suit in pressing GSIS "to improve its delivery of services" by way of an approved Resolution No. 06-66 sponsored by city councilor Lucio R. Balbin.

GSIS officials led by lawyer Douglas Arturo Marigomen, GSIS manager; GSIS legal officer lawyer Mercedes Enriquez and division chief Mariano Basa recently explained their side, saying that they cannot do otherwise regarding the said policy because it is the GSIS board of trustees that is calling the shots.

GSIS said that the e-card "can be accessed to almost all banks with online ATM machines like Expressnet, Bancnet and Megalink and not only Union Bank" as alleged.

The officials said that e-card, a multi-purpose card "is a debit card, which can be utilized as savings account." It can also be used on payment of bills and groceries and other purchases.

"The system of claims of GSIS pensions is not yet incorporated in the e-card," said the GSIS. It will however implement by next year. (with reports from Ric Obedencio and Chito Visarra)