The state pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has announced that it is opening a P20 billion “Study-Now, Pay-Later” loan program for college education of members’ kins.
GSIS general manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said the initiative is in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for credit support to education in light of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We will allow GSIS members who have at least 15 years of government service to avail of an educational loan for their kins in college. The loan has a term of 10 years but we will not require them to pay anything in the first five years. So they don’t have to worry about the tuition of their children for the first five years,“ Macasaet was quoted in a press statement the GSIS released Tuesday.
Under the GFAL-Educational Loan (GFAL-EL), the maximum amount that may be borrowed per academic year is P100,000 covering tuition and other school fees. The interest rate is only 8 percent.
A GSIS member may nominate up to two student-beneficiaries under the program. The two must be related to him or her up to the third degree of consanguinity or affinity and enrolled in a four-or five-year course in a private or public educational institution.
The statement said the loan proceeds will be directly paid to the school under the student’s account every semester or trimester until the beneficiaries finish their courses.
Members, including special members, who have at least 15 years of service may apply for the loan. They must not be on leave of absence without pay, have no pending administrative or criminal case, and have no past due GSIS loans (including housing loans).
They must also meet the required net take-home pay of PHP5,000 after deduction of their monthly premium contributions and loan amortizations, and their agencies must not be on suspended status.
“The loan has an insurance cover to protect the interest of the borrowers and their student-beneficiaries. Thus it will be deemed fully paid in case the member or the student dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled,” Macasaet said.
The documentary requirements for GFAL-EL are: (1) properly filled-out application form signed by the member-borrower and duly endorsed by his or her agency’s authorized agency officer; (2) photocopy of the latest tuition fee assessment form; (3) photocopy of school ID (front and back) with three signatures of the student-beneficiary. If the school ID is not available, the borrower may submit any valid government-issued ID with photo, signature, and date of birth of the student. If the member has a second student-beneficiary, the same documents are required to be submitted.
For other details on the program, interested parties may visit the GSIS website, www.gsis.gov.ph, or official Facebook page, @gsis.ph.
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