LEGAZPI CITY --- Government financing institutions should grant a one-year loan repayment moratorium for members of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Service System (SSS) to provide them widespread economic relief against the havoc wrought by Tropical Storm Ondoy, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, a presidential economic adviser said Tuesday.

        “Once supply chains have been restored and survival needs have been provided, cash in the best form of social and economic relief after a disaster since victims know better their need, beneficiaries would be more judicious in their procurement, benefit is direct and immediate,” Salceda said.

        He recommended a comprehensive package of demand-side measures as a decisive response to mitigate the widespread social damage and overturn the potential economic drag of Typhoon Ondoy which he said proved effective in lifting Albay from the ravages of two super typhoons (Reming and Milenyo) and Mayon eruption in 2006 that saw economic recovery in 2007 and onwards.

        He proposed four economic measures designed to inject liquidity into the system that would help sustain both temporary disruption in their incomes and permanent damages to capital assets.

        Under the proposal, the Goverment Financing Institutions (GFI) would shell out some P73 billion in economic relief assistance with GSIS investing - P4B, SSS- P28B, Pagibig- P15B, Philhealth- P4B and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas – P35B.

        Of these, P34 billion will benefit households directly, P4 billion for health institutions and P35 billion for SMEs. All these would have minimal impact on deficit of the national government, Salceda stressed.

        The measure would also directly target and impact various households, Small and Medium Enterprises and other critical entities in NCR and the 27 provinces covered by the declaration of state of calamity, according to the Albay governor.

         The measures include, among others: one-year repayment moratorium in all salary and housing loans of GSIS (with 700,000 members in the affected area) and SSS members (with 4.8M members in the affected areas out of 8M members with outstanding live accounts nationwide) at a concessional 5% imputed interest thereafter easily worth almost P4B for GSIS and P28B, for a total P32 billion. SSS members pay a monthly average of P600-P800 or P7,000 -9,000 per year.

        Salceda claimed that his proposal is in lieu of current proposals by the two GFIs since he explained that a global repayment moratorium is more pervasive and direct in impact --- more take home pay, easier to execute, less effort for members and less paper work for SSS/GSIS --- and would allow the two institutions to keep within legislative ceilings on exposures to individual loans – both are now slightly above the ceiling and without unduly decreasing their actuarial viability.

        SSS currently proposes an option of incremental P24,000 salary loans payable in 24 months worth P4.8B assuming 200,000 members avail or a housing improvement loan for members with damaged houses of up to P300,000 worth P15B if 50,000 members avail.

        GSIS, meanwhile, proposes an emergency loan of P20,000 payable in 24 months worth P5B assuming 350,000 members avail.

        Another measure is an incremental home loan improvement of P150,000 for loan-eligible members of Pag-ibig who suffered damages in their homes which could reach P15 billion if 100,000 members avail.

         Philhealth may also grant a three-month advance of monthly average reimbursement to its accredited outlets including DOH-retained hospitals, provincial hospitals, city health offices and RHUs which measure could reach P4B.

        Salceda said these measures helped Albay respond effectively to a surge in morbidity rates after the disasters even while health facilities also sustained damages.

        He further suggested that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) set up a P35B 5-year special rediscounting window for banks to refinance loan exposures to individuals, entrepreneurs and SMEs at 91-day T-bill plus 2 percent.