Echiverri submits 'reconciled' payment records to GSIS

MANILA, Philippines - Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri submitted yesterday to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) office in Pasay City the “reconciled” records he said proves that the city government has remitted its employees’ premium contributions.

“Hopefully, the submission of these documents to the GSIS would bring an end to the baseless allegations that have been propagated by my political rivals for the purpose of besmirching my name,” he said.

Echiverri personally handed over the documents to GSIS president Robert Vergara yesterday afternoon, claiming that updated data consolidated by the local government’s “reconciliation team,” led by city administrator Russell Ramirez, showed they have a “surplus” of more than P3 million in payments of premium contributions.

He said the supposed overpayment came out after they “patched up” the city hall’s records that still include workers who are dead, retired, resigned, fired, and transferred to other areas.

Echvierri said his administration is not remiss in forwarding the city government and employees’ premium contributions to the GSIS.

Cynthia Esguerra, 29, who works in the city government’s community relations office, was elated by the resolution of their decade-old GSIS problem. “The GSIS mess prevented local employees from getting benefits from the agency. We could not even apply for a salary loan,” she said.

Another employee, who requested anonymity but claimed to be working at the city hall for the last 30 years, did not blame the present administration for the GSIS problem.

“In fairness to the mayor, this problem occurred even during the previous administration and I personally acknowledged Echiverri’s efforts, particularly the reconciliation team, for resolving the problem,” she said.

She also said that she was one of the officers providing the reconciliation team updated GSIS records of the city hall workers. She blamed the previous GSIS leadership for the “record mess,” including the agency’s reportedly defective computer system that erased the records of GSIS members.

Vice Mayor Edgar Erice filed on July 7 a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Echiverri for the alleged non-payment of P343 million in city hall employees’ contributions.

On July 11, Erice filed a motion for preventive suspension against the mayor. Then acting ombudsman Orlando Casimiro approved Erice’s motion and on July 18, ordered Echiverri suspended for six months.

Echiverri sought the intervention of the Court of Appeals and on July 21, the court handed down a 60-day temporary retraining order in favor of Echiverri.

Saving face

Erice described Echiverri’s visit to the GSIS as a bid to save face.

In a statement, Erice said the GSIS and the city government should both reconcile records.

He said there should be a memorandum of agreement between the two parties and someone should be held accountable for “the six-year suspension of GSIS privileges to employees of the city since 2006 up to present.”

He also expressed doubt on Echiverri’s claim that the city government overpaid the GSIS.

Aside from the GSIS case, Echiverri is also facing another plunder case filed by Erice before the Ombudsman over an alleged irregular P415-million deal involving water rationing.

Erice said he is set to file several more graft charges against Echiverri.