Chiz calls for 3-month freeze on loan payments to GSIS, SSS, Pag-Ibig

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Francis Escudero called yesterday for a three-month freeze on loan payments to the Government Service Insurance System, Pag-Ibig Fund and the Social Security System in Metro Manila and other areas ravaged by tropical storm “Ondoy.”

“This is the fastest way by which government can help victims of Ondoy,” he said.

Escudero urged the three agencies to expedite the release of multipurpose loans to members affected by Ondoy.

“I ask these agencies of government to cut to its bare minimum the processes required to avail of these loans,” he said.

“If need be, only the members’ ID (identification card) and a barangay certification should be sufficient. They need immediate relief.”

Escudero also asked private banks to consider a suspension of consumer loan payments of debtors whose homes and other properties were damaged by floods.

“Corporate social responsibility and customer relations dictate that in times of extreme calamity, we should all come together and help those who have been placed in dire circumstances by situations we cannot control,” he said.

Escudero urged Malacañang to speed up the release of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of 25 provinces and other areas placed under a state of calamity and advance the allotments for January next year to affected local governments in Central Luzon, Rizal and some areas in Metro Manila.

“This is the least the administration can do given the dire circumstances,” he said.

“The affected LGUs can really use the money right now for relief and rescue operations as well as for rebuilding their respective cities and municipalities.”

Escudero said the P250-billion IRA for local governments is released on a monthly basis.

Escudero said Central Luzon, one of the areas hardest hit by typhoon Ondoy, has about P6 billion due in the last quarter from its P23.8-billion annual IRA.

“The government should not waste any more time deliberating this, as the more time we squander, the more our people suffer,” he said.

Escudero said the combined IRA for Metro Manila is P17.2 billion. Affected Metro Manila cities and their last quarter IRA allocations include Quezon City, P600 million; Marikina City, about P125 million; Pasig City, about P175 million; and Taguig City, about P170 million.

Rizal province has around P1 billion due from its P4.3-billion IRA outlay this year, he added.

Escudero said Malacañang could tap other sources of funds to aid areas affected by the storm.

A P10.7-billion economic stimulus fund could be a source of aid for Ondoy’s victims, he added.

Escudero said some P6 billion of the P9.6-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund could also be used.

“No less than the Office of the President has a contingency fund of P800 million which can be diverted for use in dealing with the effects of the calamity,” he said.

“There is also a P1-billion General Funding Adjustment that can be used. There are many sources, and all the government needs is political will to use them.”

‘Workers need loans’

Workers here and abroad need calamity loans to help them cope with the devastation of Ondoy, a non-government organization said yesterday.

Susan Ople, Blas Ople Policy Center head, said thousands of local workers and overseas Filipino workers are urging the government to immediately release the needed calamity loans.

“We call on the GSIS, SSS, Pag-Ibig, Philhealth, and OWWA to immediately set up customer-friendly one-stop shops in areas most hit by the recent floods so that the members of these various agencies need only to proceed to one place to apply for appropriate assistance,” she said.

Ople said these agencies must show their members their willingness and capacity to help without red tape.

She has been receiving requests for relief and any assistance from families of OFWs, especially those in flooded areas in Marikina City, Quezon City, Cainta, and some towns in Bulacan, she added. – Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) with Mayen Jaymalin