What an awful way to learn that the property where the National Press Club of the Philippines building now stands is owned by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
Well, it shouldn’t catch many of us with surprise knowing how the GSIS has made billions from the sweats and blood of about 1.4 million public servants who could only feel remorse when applying for loans and other benefits from this semi-government pension fund agency. You don’t ask anybody else. I experienced this sad ordeal myself. And this sad experience is most common among many of the hapless ordinary government employees who are now confused on where to turn to as they are already saddled in loans with the GSIS. At least, they have to wait two or three more years before they can do the same again. But with the opening of classes on the heels of most parents working in the government, I can only picture out how they feel about it considering the rising costs of school tuition fees and school supplies and books that come with the students’ enrollment. Perhaps, Sen. Antonio Trillanes’ bill on doubling the salaries of public servants would be timely. But how to depend the bill on the Senate floors is something that the good senator may consider. Otherwise, it would be another legislative exercise in futility. Unless, Trillanes gets the support of majority of the senators, there’s no need for him to bolt out from the military custody just to make his presence felt for a lively debate on the Senate floors.
Going back to the NPC issue, the late President Marcos then issued an order asking the GSIS to hand over back the NPC property to where it’s supposed to be. But did the GSIS heed Marcos’ order? I don’t think so. If it did, the NPC wouldn’t have been in this serious mess today. I couldn’t imagine a respected media club now being controlled by, as Mr. Neal Cruz said, the Bad Guys whose business were publishing fly-by-night tabloids in order to masquerade as journalists?
Another issue that bothers me, even if I’m in no position to renew my regular membership right now, is the GSIS’ impending clouts and influence over the decisions of the new NPC board comes the May4th election. Should the new set of NPC officers, considering most of them are the Good Guys, be able to ignore the pressures that will be exerted by the pension fund agency’s officials, to slow down the media’s attacks and negative commentaries on the operational flaks of the GSIS management? Hopefully, being an owner of the NPC property would not be used or abused, if only to mussle or gag whatever it is that mediamen wanted to expose on matters related to the GSIS.
As of this writing, there are numerous complaints from GSIS members and pensioners that do not appear on the printed pages of newspapers for reasons unknown, not only to me, but to many others.
For the upcoming winners in the NPC election, try to make a borderline between the GSIS pressures and the Journalists’ Code of Ethics. I think that will suffice.