Pabling out, Winston in as CFI chairman

CEBU, Philippines — Former Government Service Insurance Corporation (GSIS) President and General Manager, Atty. Winston F. Garcia, has assumed the chairmanship of the Cebu CFI Community Cooperative following the resignation of his father, Atty. Pablo “Pabling” Garcia, last Friday.

The CFI announced yesterday that the Board of Directors has appointed Winston as a member of the CFI’s Board, and subsequently elected him as chairman and Atty. Lito Astillero as the vice chairman.

Astillero said that the board has the power to appoint a member to sit in the unexpired term of the one who resigned. Pabling’s term as director will expire in 2020.

Winston officially assumed office yesterday immediately after his election in a meeting presided over by outgoing vice chairperson Alma Jaranilla.

Pabling, on the other hand, will remain legal consultant of the cooperation.

Ophelia Morales, CFI’s Chief Executive Officer, thanked Pabling for his dedication, commitment and leadership of CFI following the passing of his wife and founder, retired Judge Esperanza F. Garcia, in 2016.

“Atty. Winston brings into CFI his formidable talent and expertise, and extensive experience in financial and fiscal management, having led the biggest insurance system in the Philippines, and served as board member of several of the country’s largest institutions such as the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel Corporation, and Meralco. His entry into the Board places CFI in a strategic position to sustain profitability and stability, while ushering in an era of modernization and tremendous capital growth for our over 111,000 members,” Morales commented.

During his nine-year-administration, Winston saved GSIS from the brink of bankruptcy and transformed it into the most profitable government enterprise in the Philippines, increasing its assets from P180 to P550 billion, growing its investment portfolio exponentially, ushering in the digital transformation of the pension fund, giving its 1.5 million members convenient, secure, and automated access to GSIS benefits and loan privileges.

Garcia instituted practical reforms, eliminated fraud, intensified collection, and prioritized improving members’ access to benefits, and long-term stability of the State-run pension fund.

Apart from serving as director of the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel Corporation, and Meralco, Garcia previously served as director of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Manila Electric Co., the Philippine National Construction Corporation, and the ASEAN Social Security Association.

Garcia is also former chairman of the National Reinsurance Corporation, GSIS Mutual Fund, Equitable Card Network, Inc., PCIB Securities, Inc. and Equitable Savings Bank, Inc., and the ASEAN Forum Inc. Garcia also previously served as Board Member of the Provincial Government of Cebu.

As Chairman of the Board of CFI, Winston will be leading one of the largest cooperatives in the Philippines with an asset portfolio of P11.5 billion. CFI was founded in 1970 by his mother Esperanza, then Clerk of Court of the Court of First Instance, to protect and empower court employees whose financial needs made them fall prey to loan sharks.

Forty eight years since its inception, CFI has continued to provide financial security and relief to countless Filipinos, proving a reliable and stable partner in social and community development. (FREEMAN)