GSIS CONFIRMS SECOND COVID-19 CASE, WORK FROM HOME ARRANGEMENT IN PLACE FOR CONTINUED SERVICE

State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet today confirmed that another employee of the GSIS Main Office in Pasay City tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. This brings to two (2) the total number of COVID-19 cases in GSIS.

The male employee is confined at the Las Piñas General Hospital.

Earlier, the GSIS head reported that one of their regular female employees tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The female employee, who had a travel history to Japan, is confined at the San Juan de Dios Hospital.

“We are currently in the process of ‘contact tracing’ and notifying the persons whom these two employees have had close contact with to self-quarantine,” Macasaet said.

Due to recent developments and the increased threat of COVID-19 nationwide, the pension fund chief ordered a lockdown of all branch offices across the country as more and more local governments have declared community quarantines and lockdowns in their areas.

Macasaet said that he already gave instructions to all GSIS employees nationwide to work from home following the issuance of a presidential proclamation placing the entire nation under a state of calamity.

“We do not want to expose our members and employees to any unnecessary risk, most especially our elderly pensioners who are the ones highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus,” Macasaet said.

He assured the public that GSIS will continue its operations.  “We will continue to accept loan applications, through the GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (GWAPS) kiosks. We also would like to assure our pensioners that they would receive their pensions on time. Huwag po kayo mag-alala,” the GSIS chief stressed.

In a public advisory (posted on the GSIS Facebook page), Management announced that the following GSIS services are temporarily suspended nationwide:

• Filing and processing of retirement/separation benefit claims;
• Filing and processing of non-life insurance claims;
• Filing and processing of GSIS Financial Assistance Loan (GFAL) applications;
• GFAL program extended to 30 September 2020; and
• Releasing of GSIS UMID eCards;

GSIS is also granting a one-month grace period on all premium remittances, loan payments, housing loan amortizations and rentals of GSIS real properties.