Manila: The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) exceeded its authority when it issued a rule that excluded secondary beneficiaries from receiving survivorship benefits of deceased members who had at least three but less than 15 years of service. In a decision written by Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, the SC Third Division declared Section 24.2.2 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 8291 or The Government Service Insurance Act of 1997 (GSIS Act), ultra vires or beyond the GSIS' rule-making authority.
According to Philippines News Agency, the GSIS is barred from enforcing the provision to the extent that it conflicts with Section 21(c) of the law. The case arose from the application of Petronilo Laroco for survivorship benefits following the death of his daughter, Cristie Laroco. The child was a public school teacher with 13 years of government service and had paid GSIS premiums for 12 years. She died single and had no children.
The GSIS rejected the application, citing that under Section 24.2 of the IRR, Laroco was ineligible for survivorship benefits because he was not a primary beneficiary. The GSIS held that secondary beneficiaries qualify for survivorship only if the deceased member served at least 15 years in government service. Since Cristie had only 13 years of service, only her primary beneficiaries -- such as her spouse or children -- would have been entitled to survivorship benefits.
The SC ruling in the father's favor said under the GSIS Act, a secondary beneficiary is entitled to survivorship benefits if: there is no primary beneficiary; the secondary beneficiary meets the dependency requisites under the law; the member was in government service at the time of their death; and the member has rendered at least three years of service. The SC pointed out that Section 24.2.2 of the IRR conflicts with the law because it adds a new requirement -- limiting survivorship benefits for secondary beneficiaries only to cases where the deceased member served at least 15 years.
The SC stressed that although the GSIS had good intentions to address the 'unequal situation' under the law, where the three-year government service requirement for survivorship benefit under Section 21 is unfair and disadvantageous to other members who are required to render at least 15 years of service before qualifying for pension, it cannot simply change the GSIS Act through a mere administrative issuance. By promulgating Section 24.2.2 of the IRR, the SC said the GSIS effectively assumed Congress' lawmaking authority.
'[The GSIS'] conduct also runs counter to the fundamental principle that social security statutes, such as [the GSIS Act], must be liberally construed in favor of the employee and their beneficiaries precisely because such laws are designed to promote social justice and to protect the workers and their families from contingencies, such as disability and death, that result in loss of income or financial burden,' the SC ruled. If the GSIS genuinely believes that the provisions of the GSIS Act on survivorship benefits need to be amended, the SC said it should call the attention of Congress.
The case was sent back to the GSIS Committee on Claims for the computation of the benefits payable to Laroco.
