GSIS hires SAF 44 widows as personnel in Zamboanga

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has prioritized the applications of the widows of the slain Special Action Force (SAF) policemen and hired several of them as personnel in its Zamboanga operations.

In a statement, GSIS chairman Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said that they heeded President Rodrigo Duterte's appeal to give priority to qualified widows in government employment.

“In 2018, the GSIS branch office in Zamboanga was in need of additional people after a considerable number of its personnel retired and requested transfer to other branches. Heeding  President Duterte’s appeal to give priority to qualified SAF 44 widows in government  employment, we hired the four SAF 44 widows in December 2018 as personnel after their applications were evaluated and they were found qualified for the job under standard operating procedures,” he said.

According to the statement, the widows applied for work in GSIS because they had to look for additional source of income to sustain their family’s needs and at the same time, find a way to heal after they lost their husbands in the deadly encounter in Mamasapano in 2015.

"Happy ako. Alam ko ito rin ang gusto ng asawa ko, na ipagpatuloy ko ang buhay ko. Kapag sa bahay lang ako, ang daming iniisip,” Lhea Tabdi, widow of Senior Police Senior Inspector Gednat Tabdi, was quoted as saying.

The other widows hired by GSIS are Emeliza Danao,  wife of Police Officer 2 Walner F. Danao;  Margaret Manuel, common law wife of Police Officer 2 Joel B. Dulnuan; and  Adelisa Bedua, wife of Police Officer 2 Glenn B. Bedua.

“Natanggal ang pag-aalala ko sa gastusin. Malaking tulong … Marami akong nakikilala dito. Stressful kapag nasa bahay lang ako,” Bedua said.

The elite SAF team was sent to Barangay Tukanalipao in Mamasapano to neutralize international terrorists Zulkifli Bin-Hir alias Marwan and Bassit Usman.

They were able to kill Marwan, but they were ambushed by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and other armed groups in the area. —Jessica Bartolome/ LDF, GMA News