United States-based pensioners of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the agency that provides social security benefits for past and present government employees in the Philippines, can soon ensure the continuation of their pension even while not making a single appearance to any GSIS office in the Philippines.
GSIS Pensioners who have migrated to the United States—or any other part of the world for that matter—can comply with the annual reporting requirement of the GSIS using only a machine called the GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System or GWAPS.
The GWAPS kiosks installed in the US is a product of various technologies such as radio frequency identification, biometrics and virtual private network to be used exclusively for the GSIS’ annual reporting requirement.
Before the GWAPS was put in place, GSIS pensioners—living in the Philippines or abroad—had to make personal appearances in any servicing GSIS office in the Philippines once a year, during their birth month, to ensure that they continue receiving their monthly pensions.
The GSIS said this requirement addresses the problems of fraudulent encashment of checks through misrepresentation and overpayment to deceased pensioners.
The GWAPS has now eliminated this need for personal appearances by employing biometrics. Instead of going to the Philippines, pensioners only need to have their fingerprints scanned and revalidated through the GWAPS.
Pensioners need to use a smart card called the eCard Plus to access the GWAPS.
Mr. Winston Garcia, GSIS President and General Manager, said the GWAPS is, by far, the most sophisticated and most efficient pensioner verification system in the world.
He said the GWAPS has also removed from Philippine Consular Offices the added burden of issuing special power of attorney (SPA) to pensioners, who used this document as a means to comply with the annual reporting requirement.
Consular Offices in the US also no longer have to process requests for a Certificate of Appearance, because the GWAPS is, in itself, an “electronic and online certification system.”
“In one fell swoop, the GWAPS has removed the need to fulfill a number of onerous requirements like personal appearance, the SPA and the Certificate of Appearance,” said Mr. Garcia.
The GSIS will put up the GWAPS and enroll pensioners to the eCard Plus in the Philippine Consular Offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago.
The eCard Plus enrollment for pensioners in LA was held from February 21-23, 26-28 & March 1-2 and San Francisco on February 27-28, March 1-2 and March 5-9.
For New York, the enrollment was held from March 9, 10, 12 & 13 while enrollment in Chicago was held from March 14 to 16.
These enrollment centers will also accommodate pensioners living in other states or even in countries outside the US.
If the pensioner is from another country other than the United States, he must present an unexpired Philippine passport for his identity to be accurately validated against an official document during the initial enrollment process.
On the other hand, pensioners who live in the States must present an unexpired US Government-issued photo ID—like a driver’s license, military ID or US passport—or their unexpired Philippine passport during the enrollment.
Aside from providing access to the GWAPS, the eCard Plus also functions as an ATM card wherein pensioners can receive their monthly pension in the currency of the country they are in. In the United States for instance, their pension can be withdrawn in US dollars from any ATM under the Visa Plus network.
