The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) led the celebration of National Pensioners’ Day at the GSIS head office in Pasay City as part of the week-long National Pensioners’ Week.
The event pays tribute to the contributions of the country’s retirees and pensioners while bringing services closer to them.
More than 200 pre-registered pensioners from the Philippine Alliance of Retired Educators (PARE), GSIS Retirees Association Inc. (GRAI) and SSS pensioners attended the program.
The event featured free medical check-ups, pampering services such as massages and haircuts in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), distribution of tokens and the awarding of land titles to ten pensioners. A screening of the film “Miss Granny” was also held.
The celebration included a performance by singer Nina, who serenaded the pensioners with her signature hits.
GSIS officer-in-charge president and general manager Juliet Bautista honored the nation’s retirees.
“This day is for you, our beloved pensioners, as recognition and thanks for all the years of service and sacrifice you have made for the nation and your families,” Bautista said in a message in the local language.
She said the recent reforms, such as the removal of the survivorship pension cap and the lifting of the cohabitation rule for survivorship pensioners, are aimed at bringing comfort and security to retirees. Other reforms include more flexible Christmas cash gift rules and online pension applications via the GSIS Touch app.
Finance Undersecretary Rolando Tungpalan, speaking on behalf of Secretary Ralph Recto, lauded GSIS and SSS for honoring the country’s pensioners.
“You are not footnotes in our budget books. You are the reason these programs exist,” Tungpalan said.
“This is proof of true public service: not an added burden, but an added comfort. Not an old system, but a modern solution. Not a slow process, but fast action,” said Tungpalan.
He cited the Department of Finance’s role is to ensure that government financial institutions like GSIS remain strong and stable, so that “benefits today must still be benefits tomorrow. Promises must outlast the people who make them.”
Tungpalan also pointed to the awarding of land titles as proof that government can “deliver dreams” and affirmed that the true measure of a nation lies in how it treats those who have given their best years in service.
SSS president and chief executive Robert Joseph De Claro noted the unity of GSIS and SSS in honoring retirees. “This is not a time to compare benefits but to recognize that both GSIS and SSS honor you, our pensioners, as the people who built this nation. Together, our institutions are working to strengthen governance and improve benefits for our members and retirees,” he said.
The National Pensioners’ Week is held to recognize the decades of service rendered by the country’s pensioners, address their concerns, promote financial security and highlight reforms that strengthen the pension system.
