ISABELA CITY, BASILAN – Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President and General Manager (PGM) Wick Veloso today led a stakeholders’ dialogue with the teaching personnel of Basilan National High School (BNHS).
The dialogue serves as a critical platform for the GSIS leadership to gather direct inputs from the education sector and identify concrete ways to enhance service delivery. Veloso emphasized that such engagements are essential to ensure that GSIS programs remain responsive to the evolving needs of its members, particularly those serving in the provinces.
BNHS is a vital institution in the region, standing as one of the leading secondary schools in the Isabela City Schools Division. Offering both junior and senior high school programs, it currently serves a student population of approximately 8,000.
During the open forum, teachers raised several key concerns, including the resumption of the grant of dividends. They also advocated for the enhancement of the GSIS Educational Subsidy Program (GESP), proposing that coverage be expanded to include legal dependents beyond direct children, such as nephews and nieces, and that eligibility be extended to college students across all year levels.
Following the exchange and recognizing the challenges faced by the school due to its large student population, PGM Veloso endorsed the evaluation of BNHS for inclusion in the agency’s 2026 Adopt-A-School Program.
The GSIS Adopt-A-School Program is a long-running corporate social responsibility initiative that provides technology and learning support to public schools nationwide in partnership with the Department of Education. It focuses especially on “last-mile” and underserved schools, with GSIS allocating dedicated funds per school to upgrade facilities and digital tools for teaching and learning.
The visit to Basilan underscores the pension fund’s commitment to bring its services closer to members and ensure that policy decisions are informed by the actual concerns of government employees. (PR)
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