The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to charge Josefina Dela Cruz, Postmaster General of the Philippine Postal Corporation (PPC) for 15 counts of violation of Republic Act No. 8291 (GSIS Act of 1997). Also ordered indicted are Bernardito Gonzales and Arlene Bendanillo of PPC Zamboanga City.
Complainant Santos Pamatong, Jr., a PPC employee, narrated that respondents failed to remit his loan amortizations to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the period October 2011 to December 2012.
As defense, Dela Cruz claimed that “due to insufficiency of funds, the PPC prioritized the net take home pay of employees and operating costs, over the remittance to the GSIS of premiums and loan amortizations.”
In its Resolution, the Ombudsman ruled that “Dela Cruz has not presented any evidence that would support her allegation that the PPC lacked the funds to be able to remit to the GSIS complainant’s loan amortizations.”
Under Section 52 of the GSIS Act, it is provided that the heads of the national government and the personnel of such office involved in the collection of premium contributions, loan amortizations and other accounts due to the GSIS who shall fail, refuse or delay the payment, turnover, remittance or delivery to the GSIS within 30 days from the time it is due and demandable shall, upon conviction by final judgment, suffer the penalties of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years and a fine. ###