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MANILA, Philippines – For the longest time, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has been perceived by the public as having employees who live on bribes, but an official says that’s an unfair generalization. Most of them take out loans to make ends meet, an official said.
The proof, said career employee Dr Siegfred Manaois, is the BOC Provident Fund Incorporated (BOC-PFI), which he has been managing since 2012.
“Their dependence on our Provident Fund for loans when financial difficulties arise is solid proof that, while their pay is often not enough to make both ends meet, they would rather borrow than steal,” Manaois said.
From 2005 to August 2016, the fund approved 8,758 loan applications amounting to more than P124 million. It also paid out or spent on the following:
- P25.4 million retirement claims
- P6.5 million hospitalization assistance
- P14.9 million on funeral benefits
- P2.5 million Christmas gifts to members
- P815,000 relief assistance to victims of natural calamities
This shows, Manaois said that the BOC is not “populated by conniving thieves who deprive the government of much needed revenues.”
From P8 million in 2005, the BOC-PFI’s assets increased by 1,500% to P128 million as of December 31, 2015.
“Our fiscal management philosophy is to focus solely on investments that can weather market fluctuations better than the rest. We are risk-averse which means that at any given time, we would rather err on the side of capital safety,’’ the fund’s general manager said.
Manaois said BOC-PFI’s “main reason for being is to serve as an economic safety net for its members. That is the reason we have made it a policy to receive, process and approve each loan application in just two working days.” – Rappler.com
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