Date Posted: September 23, 2019

San Vicente, Tarlac. The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with four local government units (LGUs) in Tarlac today that opened a Php170 million loan facility for government employees in said areas under the GSIS Financial Assistance Loan (GFAL). GSIS Chairman and concurrent acting President and General Manager (APGM) Rolando Ledesma Macasaet also conducted a stakeholders’ dialogue here in the province.

“GFAL is GSIS’s response to the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to help government employees settle their financial obligations with lending institutions. GSIS will refinance their loans up to Php500,000 with lending institutions at a lower interest rate of six percent per annum and payable at a longer term of up to six years. GFAL borrowers stand to take home higher take-home pay and protect their retirement benefits from future deductions. We appeal to government employers to help us make this a reality,” Chairman Macasaet explained.

The pension fund chief underscored that GFAL is in response to the President’s call to “free government employees from unscrupulous lending institutions or loan sharks which offer 5-6 schemes with double digit interest rates.”

Macasaet signed the MOA on GFAL along with the local officials of Tarlac headed by Governor Susan A. Yap. The other signatories in the MOA were Anao Mayor Rafael M. Naral; La Paz Mayor Venustiano D. Jordan; Mayantoc Mayor Julie P. Icmat.

Also lined up in the list of GFAL activities are MOA signing ceremonies with LGUs in Camiling and San Clemente and Camiling Water District.

The four LGUs that participated in the MOA in Tarlac will join some 400 government agencies that have already entered into GFAL agreement with GSIS.

Recently added to the list are Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone, Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and the provincial government of Romblon.

Under GFAL, qualified members may apply for a maximum loan amount of Php500,000. Those whose outstanding loans with lending institutions do not exceed Php500,000 may opt to borrow the remaining amount through the Top-Up Loan, with the proceeds directly released to the member.

GFAL was initially offered to teaching and nonteaching personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) on 15 May 2018 and has been extended to all government employees effective 29 July 2019.

Qualified to apply are permanent government employees with outstanding loan from private lending institutions, government banks, or cooperatives accredited or recognized by their agency; have paid premiums with the GSIS for at least three years; have no due and demandable loan account with the GSIS; not be on leave without pay; have a net take-home pay of not lower than Php5,000 after deduction of monthly obligations; and have no pending administrative case or criminal charge.

A borrower with pending case is still eligible to apply for GFAL if the case was filed by a lending institution due to nonpayment as a result of the prioritization of payroll deductions. As of 17 September 2019, GSIS has disbursed over Php33.03 billion in GFAL, benefitting 87,802 GSIS members.

The deadline for GFAL application for non-DepEd personnel is 26 July 2020. All GSIS offices nationwide are open from Monday to Saturday to accept GFAL applications.

During the dialogue with stakeholders, Chairman Macasaet said that “GSIS also wants to hear from our stakeholders. Dialogues enable us to gain insight into their needs, which in turn serve as guideposts in fine-tuning our programs and services.”

He added that the event is an opportune time for GSIS to update stakeholders on its latest programs, which include GFAL; Program for Restructuring and Repayment of Debts (PRRD), a one-time condonation and restructuring program for inactive members who have no financial capability to settle their outstanding balances in full; and GSIS’s Guide to Transactions and Processes (GTAP), the first electronic Citizen’s Charter in the government.