SSS, GSIS ordered to speed up loan processing

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has ordered the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) to speed up the processing and release of loan applications of their distressed members.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo issued the directive after receiving reports that GSIS and SSS members devastated by storm “Ondoy” and who were applying for calamity and housing loans and other forms of assistance were appealing for faster processing of their applications from the state pension funds.

“The President ordered the GSIS and the SSS to expedite the approval and release of calamity and other emergency loans,” Remonde said.

He said the loans must be released within three days after the application of a qualified member.

Mrs. Arroyo earlier announced that the SSS and the GSIS would defer collecting housing and calamity loan payments from members for a year to allow them to recover from the calamity.

House to prioritize final approval of Resolution 47

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives will prioritize the final approval of a resolution asking the GSIS and SSS to suspend loan amortizations in areas damaged by storm Ondoy and typhoon “Pepeng.”

“I’m confident that we can pass this measure the soonest. It is now a top priority of the House and hopefully of the Senate,” Speaker Prospero Nograles said yesterday.

He said his chamber would take final action today or tomorrow on Joint Resolution 47, the measure mandating the suspension of loan payments.

He said the House, responding quickly to the humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of Ondoy, approved the resolution on second reading on Wednesday night.

“There was bipartisan support for the measure as evidenced by the fact that it was Majority Leader Arthur Defensor and Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora who sponsored it,” he added.

South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, who belongs to Zamora’s minority group, is the principal author of the measure.

Under the resolution, GSIS and SSS loan payment would be suspended for at least 90 days, and interest and penalties would be waived.

Also covered are payments of housing loan borrowers from the Pag-IBIG Fund.

The measure likewise urges private financial institutions to extend the same relief to their borrowers.

In filing Resolution 47, Antonino-Custodio said people affected by Ondoy “were caught unprepared by such a fortuitous event, the severity and cruelty of which requires an effective and immediate action from the concerned agencies of government.”

“Even the Civil Code recognizes the concept of fortuitous event, defined as unforeseen or even if foreseen is inevitable, which is made as valid exception and defense in the non-fulfillment of obligations and stipulations of contracts,” she said.

She said GSIS and SSS would not be hurt by a 90-day suspension of loan payments and scrapping of interest and penalties, since they have hundreds of billions in assets.

Earlier, responding to Nograles’ call for donations, several congressmen, including Neptali Gonzales II of Mandaluyong City, Florencio Noel of the party-list group An Waray, Mujiv Hataman of Anak Mindanao, and Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Cavite, donated P1 million each of their pork barrel funds to Ondoy victims.

Other House members contributed at least P20,000 each to an Ondoy fund.

Real estate, income tax breaks for ‘Ondoy’ victims

Meanwhile, opposition Sen. Francis Escudero yesterday called for real estate and income tax breaks for victims of the deluge caused by tropical storm “Ondoy”.

“I appeal to local government units (LGUs) in the areas most affected by the flooding to consider real estate exemptions for homeowners severely affected by Ondoy’s floods,” he said.

Escudero said local government units only need to ask barangays to certify the damage wrought on homes in their areas before granting the exemption.

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), close to fifty thousand families (about 253,000 people) were displaced by the floodwaters that swamped homes in Metro Manila, mostly in Quezon City and Marikina.

In the provinces, Laguna and Rizal had the most number of evacuees, the DSWD said.

Escudero also urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to allow taxpayers to deduct the losses incurred due to the damage caused by Ondoy on their homes and motor vehicles when they file their income tax returns next year.

He also called on the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to exempt motor vehicle owners from paying renewal fees if their vehicles were damaged by the floods.

“We know how far calamity loans can go for the families who suffered most from Ondoy’s onslaught. Let us think of other ways to help them overcome their present difficulties,” Escudero said.

Escudero, meanwhile, urged government agricultural experts to conduct a study on what plants can recover more quickly from excessive water and strong winds in view of the tragedy that happened after Ondoy last week.

At least 16.7 inches of rain fell last Sept. 26, much more than the usual average of 15.4 inches for September.

Escudero suggested that farmers in typhoon-prone provinces consider cultivating banana, corn, abaca and other crops that can thrive on the country’s nitrogenous soil.

“Cover crops such as ramie, maguey and kudzu can also mitigate damages from strong rains and winds,” Escudero said.

Ramie and maguey are both fiber crops used for making clothing and twine, respectively, while kudzu is a vine sued for medicinal and industrial purposes. Its long stems can also be used for controlling soil erosion.

Escudero noted that while most attention has been on floods spawned by Ondoy on urban centers, there was also significant damage in Luzon’s agricultural heartlands in Regions 3 & 4.

“Besides damaging life and property, Ondoy also destroyed crops that resulted in heavy losses for farmers,” he noted.

The Department of Agriculture estimated damages to agriculture from Ondoy at P3.6 billion based on reports from affected regions, with losses to the rice sector at P3.28 billion, corn P35 million, high value commercial crops P126 million, livestock and poultry P31 million.

Damage to facilities, infrastructure and equipment used for livestock and fisheries was pegged at P1.5 million. –-Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) with Jess Diaz and Christina Mendez