My letter (?Mysterious re-scheduling of pension remittances,? Inquirer, 9/28/09), specifically cited the predicament of Milagros E. Base, surviving spouse of the late Lazaro D. Base, a retired teacher. Ms Base, sister of my wife, was rushed from the farthest town of Capalonga to a hospital in Daet for mild stroke. Her ATM account turned out empty. It has been empty since July 2009. She did not receive her pension presumably due to her failure to renew her status on Feb. 6, 2009, her birth date.

On Oct. 12, 2009, my wife and I accompanied her to the GSIS satellite office in Daet to renew her status, but we were advised to proceed to the Agro-Cultural and Sports Center where a GSIS machine was temporarily placed to accommodate all the pensioners in the province.

But until now her ATM account is still empty; hence she is penniless and could not buy the medicines prescribed by her doctor. Does this mean that the GSIS considers Base already dead although she is very much alive? Or, shall we say, the GSIS management disregard good morals and the proper norms when it comes to attending to ?less important? pensioners like surviving spouses? And correct me if I?m wrong: GSIS president Winston Garcia deprived the surviving spouses half of their monthly pensions in the same manner that he abolished the 13th-month pension which they had been receiving in the past, alleging that it is not in the GSIS law.

And let?s face it. Regardless of the social status of pensioners, the GSIS should extend to them the necessary assistance considering that most, if not all, of them are already in their twilight years and spent the best years of their lives in the service of government and they did so faithfully, honestly and with integrity.

Base, as a result of her mild stroke, can hardly walk now; she has to be assisted by a househelp or her grandchildren.

?GODOFREDO O. PETEZA,
JP Rizal Street,
Barangay Camambugan,
Daet, Camrines Norte 4600