Albay Suspends GSIS Loan Deductions Among Employees

LEGAZPI CITY, Oct. 10  - Starting this month, the provincial government will no longer deduct the loan payments in the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) from the salaries of its employees.

"President Arroyo's approval of my demand side relief package with immediate effectivity will help both local and national government employees cope up with the recent crisis brought by the recent typhoons," Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said.

Salceda said that all private companies in the province of Albay were also advised not to deduct loan installments of Social Security System (SSS) members.

The move would increase the average monthly take-home pay of employees by P600 to P900.

Salceda said the suspension of GSIS loan deduction would help ease the burden of government employees.

He said that the suspension of GSIS and SSS loan installments will last for year. "This is to give the victims of typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng enough time to recover economically."

Salceda earlier proposed to Malacanang a one-year repayment moratorium for all salary and housing loans of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) members (P32 billion); home loans of P150,000 for eligible members of the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG (P15 billion);

Three-month advances of the monthly average reimbursement by Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) to accredited hospitals (P4 billion); and P35 billion worth of a five-year special rediscounting window for banks to refinance loans to individuals, entrepreneurs and small businesses at 91-day T-bill rates plus 2 percent.

Salceda also noted the need for a decisive response to ease the widespread social damage and overturn the economic drag by typhoons.

The measures had helped the province of Albay, which was devastated by typhoon Reming in 2006.(PNA)