GSIS trustees face arrest over pensioner's 21-year-old case

MANILA, Philippines - Members of the board of trustees of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the state-owned pension fund for government employees, are facing an arrest warrant in relation to a 21-year-old case involving a pensioner.

Judge Roberto Mislang of Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 167 issued the arrest warrant on March 31, acting on a petition for indirect contempt filed last March 14.

Mislang found the GSIS board liable for alleged violation of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued on March 2, weeks after the settlement between the GSIS and pensioner Rosario Santiago, an 82-year-old widow.

The settlement case between the GSIS and Santiago stemmed from a question of land ownership that can be traced back to the 1970s. The case was decided in favor of Santiago against the GSIS in 1999, and became final and executory in 2004.

The previous board tried to prevent the decision from being implemented by filing a total of three motions for reconsideration before the Supreme Court, which were all denied.

As a last recourse to protect the state pension fund, the current board filed a fourth motion for reconsideration to no avail. The Supreme Court ruled with finality on Dec. 14, 2010 in favor of Santiago.

Hence, the GSIS settled with Santiago on the basis of the final Supreme Court decision.

The Supreme Court has ordered the GSIS to pay about P400 million to Santiago for “wrongfully foreclosing more than three hectares in 1974.”

The TRO, issued March 2, 2011, which was granted in favor of a certain Antonio Vilar and Harold Cuevas, directed the GSIS board to turn over to Vilar and Cuevas the sums of money adjudged in another case and by another court specifically, Branch 71 of RTC Pasig City.

Incidentally, Vilar and Cuevas were not parties in the case of Santiago. After having gotten wind of the settlement, Vilar and Cuevas all of a sudden surfaced to claim their supposed shares.

Surprisingly, the TRO gave credence to the supposed right of Cuevas, which only came from an assignment made in his favor by Vilar.

In a statement yesterday, the GSIS said the provisions of the TRO were also highly irregular.

“A TRO is only supposed to prevent the board of trustees from doing certain acts, but the one issued by Judge Mislang also forced them to carry out some acts which they can no longer do since the GSIS and Santiago have already entered into a settlement even before the complaint was filed,” the GSIS said.

Furthermore, the pension fund said the TRO, in effect, inappropriately resolved the main issue of the case without the benefit of a trial, without considering available evidence, and without observing due process.

The GSIS, for its part, is exhausting all available legal remedies to annul the orders of Mislang.

Nonetheless, said members of the GSIS are prepared to face the decision of the court.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, for his part, lamented yesterday the decision of Mislang.

“It is highly unfortunate that the members of the newly-constituted board of directors of the GSIS who are merely complying with a now final and executory decision of the Supreme Court, are now caught between contending claimants,” he said.