BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA
Contributed to Bulatlat
September 17, 2008
Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II called on the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) managements to publicly disclose any and all of its investments in the troubled US financial firms.
The statement was issued in the wake of the collapse of US financial institutions Lehman Brothers and American Insurance Group (AIG), and the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America.
In a statement sent to Bulatlat, the senator said that the GSIS and SSS must disclose any investment exposure in Lehman, Merrill Lynch, AIG and other US Stock Exchange investments. Roxas said that the managements of government surety firms must explain to members the effect of these to their trust funds’ health and must act to ensure the future of thousands of pensioners.
“GSIS and SSS are…mandated to protect the people’s interests. The value of their trust funds must be preserved. They must stay away from speculative investments,” said Roxas.
“We are talking about the government and private sector workers’ money here, which they have put in the GSIS and the GSIS, in the faith that it will sustain them the day that they will retire,” Roxas added.
According to the GSIS charter, the surety company is allowed to invest in foreign mutual funds and in foreign currency deposits or foreign currency-denominated debts, non-speculative equities or other assets. Roxas said the GSIS is required to submit to Congress an annual report on all its investments.
Meanwhile, SSS is allowed by its charter to invest not more than 7.5 percent of its investment reserve fund in foreign mutual funds in existence for at least three years.
He also stressed that the government must have a clear-cut plan on how it plans to deal with the threats to local jobs and incomes as an effect of the ongoing global financial crisis. Bulatlat
