Risa Hontiveros has criticised the Government Service Insurance System’s investment in DigiPlus.
The Philippines.- Senator Risa Hontiveros has questioned a PHP 1bn (US$17m) investment in DigiPlus Interactive Corp by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). During a hearing at the Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises on GSIS, she said GSIS granted the funds without evaluating social harms linked to gambling.
She said costs including addiction, family breakdown and health risks are measurable and should form part of investment assessments.
“GSIS’s investments, and the processes that govern them, should be transparent, efficient, and must clearly delineate responsibility and accountability. The funds of GSIS are not just ordinary corporate capital — they are the product of the hard work of government employees, intended to prepare for their retirement. We need to strengthen transparency and accountability in GSIS’s use of public employees’ funds,” she said.
“GSIS president Wick Veloso described these investments, such as DigiPlus, as “calculated risk.” I wonder whether this “calculated risk” took into account the alarming and horrific social cost of online gambling on our countrymen,” the senator added.
She said there is a need to review laws and policies relating to GSIS’s investment operations. “The rules must clearly stipulate that the hard-earned money of public servants be invested only in safe, stable, and humane ways,” she said: “The pensions of our public servants are not gambling chips to be tossed or spent recklessly. The trust our public employees place in GSIS should be repaid with integrity and transparency — not dubious and rash investments.”
Veloso said the agency considered DigiPlus to be a legal and listed corporation under the Philippine Stock Exchange. “We can see that this qualifies under the three points of our management: profitability, safety, and liquidity. So we saw that it meets the requirements, and that’s why we invested,” Veloso said.
Senator Mark Villar, chair of the committee, called for more diligent evaluation of the wider impacts of investments.
Risa Hontiveros has criticised the Government Service Insurance System’s investment in DigiPlus. The Philippines.- Senator Risa Hontiveros has questioned a PHP 1bn (US$17m) investment in DigiPlus Interactive Corp by the…
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