Is GSIS Under Martial Law?

Is the battle-scarred Government Service Insurance Service (GSIS) now under a state of martial law? Unionized employees of GSIS now decry of being under surveillance, the bugging of their phone lines, the hiring of top military officials for the state corporation’s security department, tight security checks at the GSIS building and other martial-law type measures.

BY DABET CASTAÑEDA  
Bulatlat

Is the battle-scarred Government Service Insurance Services (GSIS) now under a state of martial law?

Unionized employees of GSIS now decry of being under surveillance, the bugging of phone lines, the hiring of top military officials for the state corporation’s security department, tight security checks at the GSIS building in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex and other martial-law type measures.

Officials of the GSIS union, the Kapisanan ng mga Manggagawa sa GSIS (KMG or workers union in GSIS), have been harassed and their rallies dispersed violently, it was also reported.

A GSIS employee, who asked to be unidentified, last week said phone lines at the GSIS are bugged with listening devices installed in the ceilings. There are also hidden cameras inside the compound that are used to monitor union activities, the source added.

For demanding the ouster of GSIS president and general manager, Winston Garcia, employees are now subjected to retaliatory measures. “We are not even allowed to talk about union matters even during lunch break,” the source also said.

The source, who has served the GSIS for at least 20 years - 15 of that as an active member of KMG - was interviewed by Bulatlat through a mobile phone. “We can’t use our land lines - they’re bugged,” the source said.

KMG president Albert Velasco, a lawyer, said it is natural for union members to fear being identified in interviews as they might stand to lose their jobs. Confirming the electronic surveillance, he added that the union has at least two witnesses, both members of the GSIS security team, who can testify that it was Garcia who ordered the setting up of the bugging devices.

AFP officials

To make sure that martial rule reigns at the GSIS, Garcia has appointed officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to head the government corporation’s security department, Velasco told Bulatlat. In a press statement last Sept. 22, KMG said Garcia appointed Dennis P. Nagtalon as security department manager “who swaggers around GSIS claiming to be a General of the AFP.”

Two other members of the department, Felix Mendoza and Rodolfo Masiddo, both claim to be colonels, the KMG added.

Meanwhile, even staff members of the KMG have not been spared from the wrath of Garcia. The KMG reported that on Sept. 20 at around 5 p.m., the three military officers “accosted, detained, questioned, and interrogated Aldwin delos Santos and Fernando Salvador.” Both are staff members of the KMG.

“The two were detained for two and a half hours at the GSIS Security Department, intimidated and questioned like common criminals,” Velasco said.

Velasco himself was dismissed by Garcia after exposing the latter’s alleged mismanagement and corruption in the GSIS.

Velasco, who, according to Bulatlat’s anonymous source, won with a big margin over four other contenders in the union elections last May, was ordered to be “dropped from the rolls of the system” on Sept. 1.

Even before the elections, the source said, union members had been supportive of Velasco who has worked with GSIS since 1998. “We believe he could best represent us,” the source said.

The source added that Velasco has been vocal against Garcia’s alleged mismanagement even before he assumed the union presidency.

After applying for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals (CA), Velasco went to the GSIS premises on Sept. 8 to consult with union members. On Sept. 20, the appellate court eventually issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Garcia regarding Velasco’s dismissal.

Velasco went to the GSIS on Sept. 24 but, according to the source, a commotion ensued when security guards tried to block Velasco from entering the GSIS building. The security guards, union members said, deliberately knocked down the building’s metal detector then took a photo of Velasco beside the felled machine to insinuate that Velasco was responsible for the act.

Threat

The source and nine other employees witnessed the incident. After the incident, a management superior summoned the source and was warned “not to associate with Velasco or the management will do necessary actions against you.”

Despite the CA’s TRO, Garcia ordered Nagtalon to ban Velasco from the GSIS saying that the “drop order” is already “an accomplished act,” it was also reported.

Meanwhile, KMG officers also condemned the violent dispersal of GSIS employees and their supporters in a protest rally held on Sept. 28 in front of the GSIS building. Joining them in the protest were Anakpawis (toiling masses) Party Rep. Crispin Beltran and members of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage), which is composed of state-owned company unions and government personnel.

Twenty of the protesters sustained injuries during the dispersal and were to taken to the hospital, lawyer Mario Molina, KMG’s majority floor leader, told reporters the following day. GSIS security men and police attacked the protesters with water cannons and hails of tear gas. Seven of those injured were brought to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila for further treatment due to complications.

Jenny Manuel, spokesperson for the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) who was also with the protesters, said the tear gas used by the dispersal team had a 72-hour effect on the victims.

In a radio interview on Sept. 28, Garcia admitted that he ordered the rally to be dispersed because union members and other protester had no rally permits.

Illegal

A labor lawyer from the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) denounced the harassment of the GSIS employees. In an interview with Bulatlat, Rachel Pastores said that any act of management to suppress, harass, or prevent any union member or officer to perform his/her functions in the union constitutes unfair labor practice.

GSIS authorities, she said, are liable for such violation. Prohibiting employees from talking about union matters even during lunch break is also a violation of their labor rights, the PILC lawyer added.

Under the Anti-Wire Tapping Act, bugging or wiretapping is illegal and any conversation recorded through bugging device is inadmissible in court as evidence, Pastores said.

She clarified however, that there is no law prohibiting the use of hidden cameras, as is now done by business establishments including banks and hotels. But using the cameras to monitor union activities also constitutes unfair labor practice, Pastores said.

Cases vs Garcia

Meanwhile, cases continue to pile up against Garcia. In a separate interview, Velasco revealed that KMG has filed a case against the GSIS president with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Sept. 30. Lawyer Gilbert D. Boiser, director of CHR-National Capital Region, is handling the case.

Velasco said the CHR has summoned Garcia to explain the violent dispersal of members and supporters of the KMG on Sept. 28, and why Velasco is banned from entering the GSIS despite the appellate court’s TRO.

Set to be filed with the Regional Trial Court in Pasay City is a criminal charge in connection with the installation of surveillance gadgets in the employees’ work areas. Velasco said they have at least two witnesses who are ready to testify that Garcia ordered the installation of surveillance devices at the GSIS.

Representative Beltran, on the other hand, has filed administrative cases against Garcia with the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission (CSC). The cases are in connection with Garcia’s alleged graft practices at the GSIS, among others.

GSIS employees along with Courage and other cause-oriented groups have been calling on President Macapagal-Arroyo to fire Garcia from the GSIS due to his alleged malversation of GSIS funds, among others.

Despite the public clamor, Velasco said, Garcia remains ensconced as a rock at the GSIS. Garcia hails from Cebu province where his family is known as a political dynasty. In the May 2004 elections, Cebu delivered sizeable though questionable votes that led to the election of Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency. Bulatlat

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