Warrant of arrest issued vs. all members of GSIS Board
The new members of the GSIS Board of Trustees are considered “heroes” here in General Santos City for solving the long pestering housing problem in Doña Soledad, Labangal, General Santos City. This representation is one of the beneficiaries of their good deeds.
It can be recalled that because of their problems, the retirement benefits of, more or less, 600 government employees were clipped, and those who have retired did so without receiving anything for GSIS in terms of old-age benefits. This housing problem has created so many sob stories of government employees wallowing in crippling poverty after they had retired. Not only that their pensions were confiscated, but their housing units remain under threat of being attached.
But before the court bulldozed the affected government employees from their respective housing units, the new members of GSIS Board, with former Akbayan Congressman, Mario J. Aguja, as one of the members came to the rescue by coming up with a very reasonable buy-back scheme with affordable market price, thrashing all arrearages and penalties.
However, the people to whom we owe gratitude are now about to be incarcerated as a warrant of arrest has been issued against them. We need to support the cause of these idealistic people. We pave the way for the news article below so we may know the reason for the travails of these good, altruistic people:
“In their effort to settle a 21-year-old case involving an 82-year-old widow, the newly constituted GSIS Board of Trustees is facing the challenge of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Roberto Mislang of RTC Branch 167 of Pasig.
“The arrest warrant, issued March 31, 2011, was based on a petition for indirect contempt filed last March 14, 2011. Judge Mislang found the Trustees liable for alleged violation of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued on March 2, weeks after the settlement between the GSIS and 82-year-old Rosario Santiago had been executed.
“The settlement case between the GSIS and Mrs. Santiago stemmed from a question of land ownership that can be traced back to the 70s. The case was decided in favor of Mrs. 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 December 14, 2010 in favor of Mrs. Santiago.
“Hence, the GSIS settled with Mrs. Santiago on the basis of the final Supreme Court Decision.
“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 Mrs. 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. The assignment however was done only on 15 February, 2011 and for only 1/2% of the judgment award in favor of Mrs. Santiago which had long become final in 2004.
“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 Mrs. Santiago have already entered into a settlement even before the complaint was filed.
“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 Judge Mislang. However, all members of the Board are prepared and willing to go to jail if this is the result of their collective decision to protect the pension fund and its more than 1.7 million members and pensioners. (end)
