BACOLOD City – Thirty-three regular employees of the Bacolod City Hall are under investigation for the alleged falsification or tampering of their payslips to obtain loans from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
City Legal Officer Atty. Karol Joseph Chiu, in a letter dated November 14 addressed to Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) head Erman Aguirre, requested certified copies of GSIS loan documents and a written report on the alleged mass falsification involving personnel of the General Services Office (GSO). The probe also covers the assistant head of the GSO, who allegedly signed the tampered payslips submitted by 32 employees.
Atty. Chiu clarified that the request is part of the fact-finding and clarificatory steps of a preliminary administrative inquiry being undertaken by the City Legal Office (CLO), and that no conclusions have been made regarding administrative liability.
“As part of the preliminary administrative inquiry being conducted by this office, you are hereby requested and directed to submit certified true copies of GSIS loan documents, including the loan applications and the payslips actually submitted by the employees,” Chiu stated in his communication to the HRMO. He also requested copies of any certifications of net take-home pay issued in support of the loan applications, and any routing slips or transmittal forms indicating the movement of documents within City Hall.
The alleged mass falsification was uncovered after GSO head Gilda Lluisma submitted an incident report. In her report, Lluisma said that on November 12, she inquired with the Management Information Technology and Computer Services (MITCS) regarding the final draft of their payroll. She was informed that a problem had arisen—many employees reportedly had negative or zero net pay balances.
Lluisma then learned that several employees allegedly tampered with their payslips to avail themselves of GSIS loans, Chiu told the media.
The CLO has already issued notices to explain to all 33 employees involved, with Mayor Greg Gasataya noting the action./PN
