COTABATO CITY, Oct. 6 (PNA) -– The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) have started processing of refunds for retired teachers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a ranking education official in the region said.
In a statement, Department of Education (DepEd-ARMM) Regional Secretary Jamar Kulayan, said the program is set to benefit more than 6,000 teaching and non-teaching personnel of DepEd-ARMM in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
The announcement was made by Kulayan as the regional education department joins the celebration of World Teachers Day on Sunday.
Kulayan said there were some delays in the implementation of the GSIS refund program because of incomplete records.
The “good news” for teachers came after Malacanang approved the release of P890 million to settle the unpaid contributions of DepEd ARMM personnel.
DBM said the release was in accordance with the recently signed Supplemental Memorandum of Agreement between the three agencies, a landmark development that clears premium arrears of a total of 29,000 DepEd-ARMM employees.
In a statement, DBM Sec. Butch Abad said the release signaled the delivery of benefits to ARMM teachers.
“We are beginning the process of settling all unpaid GSIS contributions of our teachers in the ARMM region.
This latest fund release sets into motion the delivery of the full range of benefits offered by the GSIS to these employees,” Abad said in a statement.
The P891.4 million releases was consistent with the agreed terms set by the MOA signed last June 11, 2014, which includes the payment of said amount.
The DBM said it will be releasing another P100 million within one year from the MOA signing to completely settle the GSIS contribution backlog.
Of the P891.4-million release, P543.9 million was sourced from the Retirement and Life insurance Premiums (RLIP) and the remaining P347.5 million from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF), both under the 2014 General Appropriation’s Act (GAA).(PNA)