The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) introduced on Thursday its GSIS Touch mobile application that caters to every government employee's needs for loan assistance.

“Yung mobile phone po ng GSIS, maari ka mag-check kung may balanse ka para makautang. Maari ka pang umutang gamit lamang ang mobile phone mo sa bahay mo. Kaya ito po ay tinatawag nating GSIS Touch, in-house developed,” GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso said in an episode of GSIS Ginhawa For All.

Going digital

“96 percent po ng loan transactions ng GSIS ay digital na po at ang karamihan po diyan nandoon na sa mobile phone sapagkat doon nila natutunan kung gaano kadali,” Veloso said.

When asked how quickly government employees could avail of the loan, the GSIS chief said it would take less than a day.

“Pag ikaw pumunta ka sa GSIS Touch, umutang ka. Ngayon alas-diyes ng umaga ay yung agency mo ay tinatawag yan na taga-approve na pwede ka mangutang. Pag ‘yun katabi mo at in-approve niya, mamayang gabi naroroon na yung pera sayo. Wala pa pong 24 hours,” he explained.

In the unfortunate event that something bad happens to a borrower which leaves the bereaved family with staggering debt, Veloso clarified that they had insurance to cover for that.

“Meron po tayong tinatawag na insurance para naman hindi na sila magkaroon ng problema na mabayaran po yang kanilang pagkakautang,” he said.

The GSIS chief also lauded their mobile application’s connections to eGov through the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

“Lahat po ng mamamayan ng Pilipinas may application po na tinatawag na eGov. Lahat ng ahensya naka-connect diyan. GSIS ang unang nakipag-connect sa DICT para sa eGov. Ngayon yung inyong GTouch kung ano pang ibang kailangan niyo, naka-connect na po diyan sa eGov,” he explained.

Lowest interest rate

Veloso also explained that they have the lowest interest rate at 6 percent per annum.

“Kami po ay ang pinakamababang interest rate per annum. Six percent per annum,” he said.

Regarding how the state pension fund could recover given the 6-percent interest rate, the GSIS chief conceded that they have other income streams.

“Mare-recover po namin yan sapagkat hindi lang po yan ang aming pinagkakakitaan [...] Yung ating mga miyembro, kontribusyon nila yan. Yan ba naman ipagkakait mo pa sa mga miyembro nating nangangailangan ng pera sa oras ng pangangailangan,” he added.

GFAL vs. MPL Flex

Veloso clarified that their former loan product, Ginhawa For All, was the same as their enhanced Multipurpose Loan Flex, but better.

“Itong Multipurpose Loan Flex, wala pong pinagkaiba yan sa Ginhawa For All kung hindi po pinaganda po namin. Una, nilakihan ang loan amortization. Pwede ka manghiram dito up to 14 times of your salary or up to 5 million pesos. Pwede ka pa magkaroon ng term structure of payment up to 15 years,” he said.

When asked if a borrower can take another loan from MPL Plus, Veloso said yes.

“Pwede po. Hanggat meron ka pang 5,000 na take home pay, pwede niyo pa gamitin yung gamitin pa ulit itong MPL Flex,” he said.