The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has set aside an additional P1.9 billion in emergency loans for more than 71,000 active members and pensioners in five areas severely impacted by the southwest monsoon (habagat), the Intertropical Convergence Zone, and tropical storms Crising, Dante, and Emong.
GSIS officer in charge president and general manager Juliet Bautista announced that loan requirements have been relaxed, allowing faster release once a local sanggunian declares a state of calamity based on recommendations from the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The application deadlines are as follows: October 5 for Quintin, Pangasinan; October 7 for Sultan Kudarat; October 10 for Atok, Benguet; October 27 for Parañaque City; and October 29 for Taguig City. Applications can be submitted securely and conveniently via the GSIS Touch mobile app, with 99.79 percent of applications already filed online.
Eligible active members must have no existing due loans, be actively employed or residing in affected areas, have paid premiums in the last six months, no pending cases, and a net monthly take-home pay of at least P5,000. Old-age and disability pensioners may also apply if they retain at least 25 percent of their monthly pension after loan deductions.
Qualified borrowers can avail emergency loans of P20,000, or up to P40,000 if they have an existing emergency loan. The loan is payable over three years with a low 6 percent annual interest rate and no processing fee. The loan is covered by redemption insurance, which cancels the balance in case of the borrower’s death, provided payments are current.
