Explain GSIS foreign investments

THIS concerns the recent column of Mr. Honesto General titled, "GSIS law on foreign investments" (PDI,10/08/08). I really have no idea why the GSIS general manager Winston Garcia has declared that the GSIS investments under the Global Investment Program (GIP) "was earning 5 percent," which is contrary to what the GSIS said a year ago that the said investment was supposed to have a guaranteed earnings of at least 8 percent? Is the GSIS hiding something from its millions of active members, most of whom are having difficulty applying for loans with the pension fund agency? And if ever loans are granted to them, most often computations are questionable and beyond the understanding of ordinary government employees whose mathematical skills are not at par with those of the magicians at the GSIS loans processing department. What seems to be mystery right now is the way in which the GSIS is tinkering with its members' money? The difference between 5 and 8 percent should be misconstrued as something that should be accounted for. The GSIS management should explain this in a public hearing which maybe called by Congress to shed light on the details of the said offshore investments. Otherwise, the difference should be another case of "finding a needle in the hay." If not, it is about time that any government employees association must stand up and do something to stop these shenanigans in the GSIS by filing a lawsuit before a proper court to stop GSIS from collecting members’ contributions until the GSIS shortcomings and loopholes in the processing of loans are corrected. Or they can lobby Congress to rectify some of the provisions of the GSIS charter, especially if it concerns matters that have something to do with investments abroad and other matters that are beneficial to its millions of members. As a former GSIS member, I haven’t heard of any government organization that had protested in behalf of its members to ventilate their grievances in the proper courts so that these things could be ironed out, once and for all. If a consumer organization had succeeded in suing the Manila Electric Company for what it did to millions of hapless consumers, why not the GSIS members, too? Al Jeratso via Reader's Comment