State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said it allocating more than P4.3 billion in emergency loan for members and pensioners in 17 areas who were affected by El Niño drought.
It said 185,107 active members and old-age and disability pensioners in Negros Oriental and Kabangkalan City and Valladolid in Negros Occidental may apply until June 14, 2024.
Those in San Vicente, Palawan may apply until June 15, 2024; in Carcar City and Compostela in Cebu and Iloilo on June 19; in Brooke’s Point in Palawan, San Agustin in Romblon, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Sur, Special Geographic Area), Quezon and Pangantucan in Bukidnon and Tboli in South Cotabato until June 21, 2024.
Members and pensioners with existing emergency loan balance may borrow up to P40,000 to clear the balance of their previous emergency loan and receive a maximum net amount of P20,000. Meanwhile, those without existing emergency loan may apply for a P20,000 loan.
GSIS said to qualify for emergency loan, active members should be working or residing in the calamity-declared areas, not be on unpaid leave, have no pending legal cases, have paid premiums within the last six months and have a net take-home pay of not be lower than P5,000 per the General Appropriations Act.
Old-age and disability pensioners residing in the calamity areas may also avail of the loan provided their net monthly pension after availing of the loan is at least 25 percent, it said.
The loan has a low interest of 6 percent and with a repayment period of three years.
Members and pensioners may apply for the loan using the GSIS Touch mobile application, which may be downloaded from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.