That's good news for those concerned like Ambassador Rodolfo Arizala (rodolfarizala@mi.cl) who lives in Santiago, Chile and Floro Pimentel (c/o Myrna V. Pimentel <myrnavp@-ncc.gov.ph>), who resides in Australia .

But the question of course is when the outreach program will be forged and implemented. Based on past experience, it is not likely it will be soon enough.

Ms. Valencerina also said in her letter: "Regarding the cases of GSIS members who Mr. Arcilla included in his column, we are checking their individual records and transactions. Rest assured that we will communicate with them personally via mail or the email addresses he specified as soon as the verification results are ready."

I find that a bit reassuring. However, the pensioners who have sought my assistance may not. All of them had been writing GSIS, some for years, without getting a reply. It was only when I wrote about their complaints that the GSIS started responding, but not with dispatch either.

Take the cases of Ms. Julieta Posadas (juliep3@mac.com) and her mother, Martina Nava. It has been over a month since they had their eCards activated. Both are in the US.

Ms. Nava, 91, was sent a check representing her accrued pension up to April 2008 to her house here in Manila. But when she tried to get her pension for May at the kiosk in the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, there was no money in her account.

Julieta's experience is worse. When she tried to access her ATM account, the machine said "Invalid Pin Number." It turns out that this is a technique resorted to by GSIS when money is not available to pay the pensioners. It's a delaying tactic. GSIS owes Ms. Posadas close to P400,000. (GSIS should pay her and others similarly situated interest on their unpaid pension at the same rate that GSIS charges its members.)

So, where's the money, Ms. Valencerina? And you want these people to be patient? Please imagine how you'd feel if you were in their shoes.

In the cases of Ambassador Arizala and Mr. Pimentel, why can't GSIS just ask Union Bank to have their pensions transferred to banks of their choice in their places of residence? Arizala can appear at our Embassy in Santiago (they should know him there; he was ambassador to Chile once) and ask for a certification that he is still alive and kicking. As for Mr. Pimentel, he already has secured a certification from our consulate in Sydney. What else can they do? There are no GSIS kiosks where they are.

And then there are the cases of Ms. Ruby Parial (rubyp1010@yahoo.com) and her mother. Ruby was finally able to get half of her accrued pension last week (with no interest). When she went back a week later, the ATM said "Invalid Pin Number" which, of course, means no money in her account again!

Her critically-ill mother, Soledad , 98, still hasn't gotten her accrued pension because she has not been able to enroll in the eCard Plus system. How the heck can she enroll when she is bedridden?

There has also been no feedback on the case of Mr. Jack P. Smith, 87, c/o Jack Smith Jr. (Jack.Smith@-lacity.org)

I absolutely see no reason why GSIS cannot pay these people their accrued pension now... unless GSIS doesn't have enough cash to go around. And Mr. Winston Garcia wants to buy more Meralco shares?!

***

Then there is the case of Benjamin Gerodias (bs23gerodias@-yahoo.com) who now suffers from such degenerative ailments as osteoarthritis of the spine, arthritis on both knees, hypertension, and prostate and kidney problems.

Mr. Gerodias is unable to get his pension because he bought a house way back in l985 on a GSIS loan. He transferred the property to a neighbor without first getting the approval of the GSIS which he admits was his fault. (He had to pay amortization for at least five years before he could transfer the property to another party.) He had to do it because he had lost his job and was already five months in arrears. His neighbor who took over the property reneged on his promise to pay the arrears. He also later abandoned the property and has not been seen since. Also, according to Mr. Gerodias, a squatter has been occupying the property since 1990 up to now.

For humanitarian reasons, I believe the GSIS should try and help Mr. Gerodias find a way out of his present predicament. One way, perhaps, is to deduct monthly a certain amount of whatever he owes GSIS from the pension to which he is entitled.

***

Roly Lira (anditos22125@-yahoo.com) wrote me:

"After my previous email to you, I have tried twice to check if my mother's eCard has been activated but still it remains invalid. When I called their office, they advised me to bring my mother to their office to undergo the finger printing procedure. I have done this step twice already despite the fact that my mother can hardly walk. They told us to wait for one month after which the card will be activated. This promise was made twice - in January and February 2008. Since then, I have been in this follow up situation but still nothing has happened. What I am talking about here is not a big pension but just a small amount for my mother's medicines. Iba ang sinasabi nila sa ginagawa nila."

Roly's mother is Ms. Pilar D. Lira, GSIS ID No. 13050880138, Control No. 10685, Ret/sur/ec no. R (s) 61659, Ecard No. 4404- 5277-6472-28.

***

Let it be said that GSIS' intention for introducing the eCard Plus System and now the G-VAPS are good. However, let it also be said that the "road to perdition is full of good intentions."

Hundreds, if not thousands, of old-age pensioners now find themselves on the road to perdition, if they are not there yet, because of GSIS' good intention.

I believe the GSIS should find a solution post-haste to the problem peculiar to those who are physically and some, even mentally, no longer able to comply with the new system before they go to the Great Beyond. It is the only humanitarian thing to do.

Also, GSIS should look at their complaint files and act on them with greater dispatch. Without the members, there is no GSIS. Plain and simple.

***

It's time for Asean to put its foot down. Its position of "constructive engagement" with Myanmar has become untenable.

No one can possibly countenance the ruling junta's wanton disregard for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Myanmarese by making it virtually impossible for foreign donors to help in alleviating the suffering of the people caused by a deadly cyclone recently.

But what I find particularly grating is the junta's callous preoccupation with preserving its continued hold on power by proceeding with the referendum on its draft constitution in the midst of death and misery of its people.

That to me is the height of insensitivity and should be condemned by one and all, particularly by Asean.

Before embarking on a "coalition of mercy" in Myanmar, I believe the Association should first make it clear to the ruling junta that unless they conform with and follow normal human and state behavior from now on, they face suspension, if not outright expulsion, from Asean. It's time Asean stopped defending the indefensible. It is inexorably eroding its credibility.

***

US President George W. Bush visited the Middle East last week for the expressed purpose of seeking a final solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem.

Frankly, I don't see how he can succeed where his predecessors since 1948 have failed. Certainly not in the last nine months of his tenure.

If by some miracle he does succeed, history will judge him more kindly. He will not be remembered for his misguided and disastrous Iraq adventure, but for having engineered a final settlement for the long-festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

***

Setting aside for a moment the intricate problem of determining who really is to blame for the high cost of electricity, what I found most intriguing in the present squabble between the government and Meralco is the revelation that electricity consumed by Meralco's offices (reportedly about P500 million last year alone) are charged to consumers. Bad 'yun, di ba?

I think Meralco should just charge that expense to their yearend profit.

Systems loss? Well, it turns out Meralco is not the only one charging the loss to its customers. All other electricity distribution companies in the country are doing the same thing. So, why single out Meralco?

***

Even before he was ousted as Speaker by Ms. Gloria Arroyo and her minions, Congressman Jose de Venecia Jr. had been talking about the need for moral reformation and that he was ready to lead it. His protestation, of course, was met with skepticism by the public given his spotty track record.

Now, he has a golden opportunity to prove his sincerity following the revelation that he was with Mr. and Mrs. Arroyo in Shenzhen paying a "social visit" to the officials of ZTE in November 2006.

He should testify in the Senate and reveal everything he knows about the rotten NBN deal with ZTE, specifically what transpired in Shenzhen. Like the former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, if he tells all, the people will forgive him for his past transgressions, real or imagined. A fair exchange, don't you think?

***

Today is the 22nd day of the second year of Jonas Burgos' disappearance.

An Associated Press report published in the International Herald Tribune of May 16 said that "a left-wing activist, Celso Pojas, was fatally shot Thursday (15 May) in front of a diner in Davao, in the southern Philippines , and his colleague suggested he was the latest victim in a wave of extrajudicial killings by the military."