The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is a government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) of the Philippines. Created by Commonwealth Act No. 186 passed on November 14, 1936, the GSIS is mandated to provide and administer the following social security benefits for government employees: compulsory life insurance, optional life insurance, retirement benefits, disability benefits for work-related contingencies and death benefits. In addition, the GSIS is entrusted with the administration of the General Insurance Fund by virtue of RA656 of the Property Insurance Law. It provides insurance coverage to assets and properties which have government insurable interests.
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The GSIS covers all government workers irrespective of their employment status, except employees who have separate retirement schemes under special laws, to wit:
The principal benefit package of the GSIS consists of compulsory and optional life insurance, retirement, separation and employee's compensation.
Active GSIS members are entitled to the following loan privileges: salary, policy, emergency and housing loans.
The governing and policy-making body of the GSIS is the Board of Trustees, the members of which are appointed by the President of the Philippines.
The GSIS workforce consists of 3,104 employees, 52% of whom are in the Head Office while the remaining 48% are in the Branches. To date, there are 40 branches and 78 satellite offices nationwide. It is envisioned that the System's service network will continue to increase as the institution is committed to provide branch offices in every province where there exists a minimum of 15,000 active members.
On April 2 and May 11, the GSIS Integrated Loans, Membership, Acquired Assets and Accounts Management System (ILMAAAMS) went into a database crash, causing the agency to incur a backlog in its processing of claims and loan applications. The GSIS filed on June 1, 2011, a P100-million damage suit against the IBM Philippines and its parent firm, as well as contractor Questronix Corp. for supplying defective database software that led to the computer crash.[1]
The GSIS was the first government agency in the Philippines to adopt the Unified Multi-Purpose ID System, "which aims to streamline and harmonize the identification systems of all government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations through the use of a unified multi-purpose ID".[2] On August 16, 2011, the GSIS announced that enrollment for the eCard has reached its one million mark.[2]
On January 25, 2008, GSIS President and General Manager Winston F. Garcia announced "that it will be investing a total of $5 billion in fixed income, equities and properties [in the Philippines] and abroad ... initially investing $1 billion this year in global markets, and another $1 billion locally".[3]