Photo by ACT NCR Union Facebook Page.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) staged a protest outside the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) headquarters in Pasay City on Thursday, slamming the state pension fund over its alleged investment of more than P1 billion pesos in an online gambling venture.
With a collective call to stop gambling public funds—including those of teachers—the group said the investment was not only dangerous but also a betrayal of public trust.
“Our pension contributions are not poker chips for GSIS to toss onto the gambling table. These are the fruits of decades of service, deducted from already-meager salaries and entrusted to GSIS with the expectation of prudent, ethical stewardship,” ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said in a statement.
ACT urged the immediate pullout of all GSIS funds from gambling-related ventures and pressed for a full legislative investigation into the agency’s investment practices and possible policy violations.
“There must be strict oversight of public pension funds to ensure they are invested in productive, socially beneficial, and ethical projects that truly serve the public good,” Quetua said
“We call on all educators, public sector workers, and the public to demand the pullout of these investments, hold GSIS officials accountable, and push for laws that protect our retirement funds from speculative, unethical ventures. Our futures are not for sale, and we are ready to fight to defend them,” Quetua added.
This came after Senator Risa Hontiveros said GSIS had placed a total of P2.38 billion in three publicly listed companies, including a P1.45 billion investment in Alternergy Holdings Corporation, whose market capitalization was far below the P15 billion minimum required by GSIS’s own investment policy.
Hontiveros also pointed out that the shares were not even listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange at the time the agreement was executed and the subscription payment was made. Hontiveros also said GSIS has invested another billion in the online gambling platform DigiPlus Interactive Corporation.
The group criticized the GSIS move, saying it reeks of “corporate favoritism, corruption and gross negligence.”
“This scandal lays bare how public financial institutions, under a neoliberal framework, treat pension funds as private capital for speculative profit, while essential services starve for resources,” Quetua added.
