Members of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and pensioners can now apply online for COVID-19 emergency loan which allows them to borrow P20,000 payable within three years with a six percent annual interest rate.
“This is the first time that GSIS is offering an emergency loan on a national scale. Previously, the emergency loan is offered by GSIS to declared calamity areas which are usually confined to a particular province or region. The last time GSIS offered a region-wide emergency loan was in 2013 when typhoon Yolanda struck almost all provinces in the Visayas. In the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, GSIS disbursed a total of PHP5.2 billion in loans to members and pensioners in 2013,” GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said.
All GSIS members with good standing are qualified to avail of the COVID-19 emergency loan, except for those who are on leave without pay, incurred debts in paying the mandatory life insurance contributions or have unpaid loans for more than six months.
Aside from a duly-accomplished emergency loan application which can be downloaded from the GSIS website, members and pensioners availing of GSIS’ moneylending service are required to send a photo or scanned copy of their GSIS electronic card (eCard) or Unified Multi-Purpose Identification card (UMID) card and a photo of them holding their filled-out application form.
In case the borrower’s eCard or UMID is not available, they may submit two valid IDs instead.
These must be sent to the following designated email addresses according to the members’ place of work or pensioners’ residence:
[email protected] (NCR including Quezon City and Cavite);
[email protected] (North Luzon);
[email protected] (South Luzon);
[email protected] (Visayas); and
[email protected] (Mindanao)
Additionally, active members with a UMID card may also apply through GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (GWAPS) kiosks which are located in all GSIS branches and extension offices.
GWAPS kiosks may also be found in provincial capitols, city halls, selected municipal offices, large government agencies such as the Department of Education and several Robinsons and SM malls.
This loan will be credited electronically through the eCard or UMID of GSIS members. Moreover, it is covered by insurance, which means the loan will be declared as fully paid in case of the borrower’s demise.
Header photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash
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Writer: YANN MAGCAMIT
