Veloso back at GSIS, unveils new programs

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) on Thursday announced the return of Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso to the helm of the pension fund.

Veloso’s return as GSIS president and general manager came after the Office of the Ombudsman lifted the preventive suspension against him and other officials of the agency.

In a statement, the pension fund said Veloso, at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, announced a pipeline of initiatives upon his return to the GSIS.

“GSIS is strong and continues to grow. Our focus is not on the past but on building a future where members and pensioners feel the full value of their contributions. We are committed to completing what we have started,” he said.

The initiatives presented by the GSIS chief  include:

• Review of GSIS dividend policies to better address member concerns;
• Proposed housing project at Manila North Harbor, in partnership with Mayor Isko Moreno, to redevelop idle GSIS property into livable communities;
• Potential collaboration with the Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP - PGH), and the Philippine Pharmaceutical Corporation to make affordable medicines accessible to government workers and retirees;
• Partnership with UP to construct hospital lodging and commercial facilities at UP–PGH in support of government doctors;
• In line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., a joint project with the Department of Transportation to establish a transportation hub aimed at easing congestion and improving commuter mobility; and
• Expanded promotion of the Lease With Option to Buy (LWOB) housing program to enable more members to access affordable housing.

The GSIS chief also highlighted the continued in the pension fund’s assets, which rose from P1.54 trillion in 2022 to P1.88 trillion at present, “with 73% invested in safe, risk-free instruments.”

“Every peso entrusted to us by our 2.1 million active members and nearly 600,000 pensioners is managed with discipline and returned to them through benefits that matter—pensions, loans, housing, and healthcare,” Veloso said.

Veloso and other GSIS executives were earlier slapped with a six-month six-month preventive suspension without pay against on July 11, 2025 in relation to the Ombudsman’s probe on the pension fund’s P1.45-billion stock purchase from Alternergy Holdings Corporation.

In a statement following the lifting of his suspension, the GSIS chief said that “findings of the Ombudsman affirm that there is insufficient ground to believe that my continued service would prejudice the ongoing investigation. I welcome this as a recognition of the professionalism and integrity with which I have conducted myself throughout my tenure.” — RSJ, GMA Integrated News