By Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol ChronicleIt shocked an active pensioner of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) after learning that he appeared in official records as dead.
Celebrating his 86th birthday yesterday, Joseph Sevilla Sr. even went to the GSIS Tagbilaran office two months ago to confirm his status as a pensioner which is required by the GSIS to regularly update its database.
Last week, however, Sevilla received a letter from the GSIS informing him that his name “matched with the National Statistics Office (NSO) records of death.â€
Dr. Maria Linda Namocatcat, a daughter of Sevilla, believes that other old-age pensioners could have received a similar letter from the GSIS which appeared to be generic and had blank lines where the names of addresses are to be filled up.
The letter asked Sevilla to prove his existence and that he was not “the same person matched by the NSO†by reporting to the GSIS office and present his eCard together with two valid identification.
Condescending as the letter was, Sevilla was also told that the release of his monthly pension would be delayed if he fails to report at the GSIS office immediately.
The GSIS explained in the letter that the GSIS-NSO matching of database was “necessary for monitoring the status of pensioners†as part of cleansing their records of unqualified pensioners.
Namocatcat told the Chronicle that writing such offensive letter to a pensioner was uncalled for considering the GSIS could have just sent authorized representatives to conduct home visitations to check on the status of its pensioners.
Given that two or more persons’ names matched in the NSO records, it is unlikely that they have similar middle names, addresses, signatures or thumbmarks, Namocatcat pointed out.
She said that the GSIS is adopting a culture of distrust among its clients by presuming that pensioners would tell lies just to get the pension which is rightfully due to them.
“Pensioners should be afforded courtesy,†Namocatcat added saying that his father had served the government well as auditor of the Commission on Audit. Sevilla, who retired at 60, also served as post commander of war veterans in the first district of Tagbilaran.
“We believe there are other old-age pensioners who received the same letter but could not complain, especially those in the towns,†she said.
Although the letter was signed by GSIS Bohol caretaker Cecilia Guinto, Namocatcat was told that the letter came from Manila.
Namocatcat suspects that the GSIS-NSO matching is just another scheme to cut-off payments of pensions of the cash-strapped insurance agency.
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