GSIS, DepEd to enter into a MoU

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Department of Education (DepEd) have agreed to resolve all issues of public school teachers through a Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement was reached during the first wave of dialog between the two agencies.

The GSIS, led by its new chairman Daniel Lacson, has initiated discussions with DepEd officials in light of finally putting to rest teachers’ concerns, particularly issues on their service records.

Chairman Lacson recently met with DepEd Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francisco Varela and Assistant Secretary Reynaldo Laguda, representing Secretary Armin Luistro, for a dialog, where both agencies agreed to full cooperation.

A panel, headed by Undersecretary Varela on the part of the DepEd and GSIS executive vice president for Operations Consuelo Manansala, on the part of the pension fund, has also been formed to work on all issues raised by teachers. Manansala is also the current OIC-president and general manager of the GSIS.

During the dialog, the GSIS and the DepEd agreed to make a model arrangement which calls for the pension fund to provide IT technical assistance to DepEd. The IT technical assistance will include, but is not limited to, the provision of computer hardware and software.

In 2005, the GSIS and the DepEd, which comprise 40 percent of the entire membership base of the pension fund, had previously entered into a Memorandum of Agreement for the purpose of updating teachers’ service records

Meanwhile, in a recent visit to Bacolod by Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad, Chairman Lacson requested the former for DBM’s assistance in the fruition of the model arrangement which could later be adopted by the GSIS with all other member-agencies. –Daily Tribune