Poor and middle-class families who are hardest hit by the current economic turmoil heavily depend on social insurance and security institutions?government and private? to help them tide over  the difficulties and keep body and soul together.

Tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs due to the retrenchment or closure of business enterprises, especially those in the export industries. They fall back on these institutions during times of need.  In fact,  the Social Security System,  Government Service Insurance System, PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig, as well as pre-need firms engaged in educational, health and accident insurance, were established precisely to come to the succor of their members and clients when emergency or calamity strikes.

But there are repeated instances when certain agencies or companies in the social security and pre-need sectors fail to live up to their mandates and obligations when the intended beneficiaries knock at their door for help. Look at what is happening to about 50,000 plan holders of the Legacy Group who are left holding an empty bag, duped of their hard-earned money due to the fraudulent practices of its owners. It seems there is bleak hope in sight that they would be able to recover their investments in the foreseeable future.

Placed in an equally desperate situation is the huge number of unsuspecting workers in the private and public sectors who fall prey to a different kind of scam. Now too familiar to us is the plight of members of the SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth and Pag-ibig whose benefit claims from these agencies are either denied or reduced to pittance?all because the official records showed that they lack the required number of monthly premium contributions or the same have not been remitted at all to these institutions through no fault of their own.

Such is the predicament of some employees of a private firm called Funworks Inc. who applied for  loans with the SSS and Pag-Ibig (officially called Home Mutual Development Fund) only to be turned down because they have no records of premium contributions despite regular salary deductions by Funworks.

Supposedly, this unfortunate state of affairs at Funworks was brought about by the refusal of the chairman and president of the Quezon City-based domestic securities and investment firm to have his fellow stockholders audit the company?s financial statements.

This is quite dismaying considering that Funworks is headed by inspirational speaker Francis Kong who is known for preaching good corporate governance and business ethics. While we hope that these allegations are untrue, the information reaching us revealed that this has been going on for several years already and the investors even threatened to sue when they were refused access to the company?s books and financial records. Kong?s partners supposedly have expressed disappointment because he is known in many civic and religious circles to as a man deeply rooted in his Christian faith.

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Speaking of the SSS, Administrator Romulo Neri has made it clear that the System is not in position to give salary loans to member-workers who have been terminated.  In the first place, he said that the agency has already exceeded the maximum allowable amount that can be loaned out to members. Under its charter, the SSS is supposedly allowed only to invest l0 percent of its funds for salary, calamity and emergency loans among other short-term loans. 

With this seemingly insensitive explanation, Neri instantly found himself at the receiving end of an avalanche of attacks from labor groups. Instead of lending a helping hand to the hapless workers, it seems the SSS is adding to the misery of the workers. It is when the members lose their jobs and lose the means to pay for their and their families? basic needs that the SSS should come into the picture and its existence becomes relevant to them.

Unable to render any assistance to the members who are the sources of the billions of pesos of pension fund that is held in trust by the SSS, the agency defeats the purpose for which it was created. To make matters worse, the SSS has advised laid-off workers that if they wish to be entitled to salary loans, they have to continue paying the premium contributions, both the employee and employer?s counterparts.

And that is the most outrageous and absurd part. How can these workers keep on paying their contributions when they have lost their earning capacity? Chances are they don?t even know where to get the money for their next meal or for the jeepney fare of their children who are in school.

True, there is no unemployment insurance yet. But there should be a way by which the SSS can set aside a portion of its funds to assist distressed members who are out of work. Temporarily, they may not be able to amortize their salary loans. But they will not always be out of work. Somehow, sooner or later, they can be re-employed. We appeal to the SSS management?don?t be heartless, don?t deny to your members the privileges and benefits that are rightfully theirs.

On the other hand, the GSIS missed an opportunity to earn more from investible funds when it sold its shares of stock in the Manila Electric Co. at the ?wrong time? late last year. That is according to former Senator Ernesto Herrera, secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.

The GSIS sold its 27-percent stake (300,963,199 shares) in Meralco at P83 per share to San Miguel Corp. in October. The shares were sold at a nominal price of P90 each, for a total of P27 billion. The sale caught the public flatfooted because at that time, GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia was locked in a battle for control of Meralco with the Lopezes. Garcia then boasted the sale to be very disadvantageous to the System and its members because the buying price was above the prevailing value of Meralco stocks at that time.

But last week, Meralco?s stock soared to P129 before closing at P126. That was the time when Manny Pangilinan of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and First Pacific Group bought into the giant power utility firm. Herrera says that the state-run pension fund would have earned an extra P13.8 billion had the GSIS not sold the shares ?prematurely.?

There must have been compelling reasons behind the decision of the GSIS to divest itself of the Meralco shares. It was rumored that the GSIS at that timely was badly in need of cash to meet benefit payments to members. Also, it was reported that the System suffered huge losses from its overseas investments. There were quarters that praised the GSIS for the sale. So it?s really very hard to say whether it was a wise or a bum decision.