ACT asks GSIS to grant P20,000 calamity aid for disaster-hit members

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines has asked the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to grant a P20,000 calamity aid to all government employees affected by recent typhoons, earthquakes, and floods.

ACT filed a petition with the GSIS on Wednesday with the support of several other groups and signed by government employees nationwide.

The teachers’ group said the petition was prompted by the impact of successive disasters that hit 59 of the country’s 82 provinces.

These include damage caused by Typhoons Crising, Dante, Emong, Nando, Opong, Uwan, and Tino, as well as earthquakes and widespread floods.

ACT called on GSIS to act swiftly on the petition and grant the P20,000 calamity aid, saying the assistance would serve as a critical lifeline for public servants trying to recover from disaster-related losses ahead of the holidays.

ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo said many government workers are facing severe losses at home even as they continue to deliver public services.

“Marami sa atin ang magpa-Pasko na tuklap o nilipad ang bubong, wasak o giba ang dingding o pader, at nalubog o inanod ng baha ang mga kagamitan. Sa kabila ng mga pinsalang ito, tuloy ang serbisyo publiko nating mga guro, kawani sa sektor ng edukasyon at kalusugan, at empleyado ng gobyerno,” Bernardo said.

(Many of us will spend Christmas with roofs torn off or blown away, walls damaged or destroyed, and belongings submerged or swept away by floods. Despite these losses, our public servants – teachers, education and health workers, and other government employees – continue to carry out public service.)

She added that loans and payment moratoriums are insufficient to address the situation and instead deepen the debt burden of already struggling workers.

In the education sector, ACT said around 126,000 teachers and education workers were affected by Typhoons Uwan and Tino, with damage sustained in classrooms and learning materials apart from losses to personal property.

“With low salaries and back-to-back disasters, many government workers are being pushed deeper into financial distress. Immediate cash aid is a necessity, not a privilege,” Bernardo said in urging GSIS to provide direct assistance to its members.

Last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. placed the country under a one-year state of national calamity due to the impact of Tino in Visayas and Mindanao. 

ACT also emphasized that GSIS, as a top-earning government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC), has the capacity and obligation to extend timely and meaningful support during calamities.

The petition is backed by groups under the All Government Employees (GE) Unity, including the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), Filipino Nurses United (FNU), the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), and Kawani Laban sa Kontraktwalisasyon (Kalakon). — JMA, GMA Integrated News