The Government Service Insurance System in Butuan City (GSIS Butuan) has extended calamity loans to 5,550 active members and pensioners following the city’s declaration of a state of calamity due to a prolonged dry spell and water shortage.

The loan program was made available after the city government declared a state of calamity on Sept. 5.

“Upon the declaration of the state of calamity in Butuan City, we immediately proposed the calamity loan for our active members and pensioners, which was subsequently approved,” GSIS Butuan Branch Manager Troy Palermo said in an interview Wednesday.

Palermo said qualified active members and pensioners may avail themselves of a PHP20,000 calamity loan, payable over three years at an interest rate of 6 percent per annum.

“Of the 16,357 active members of GSIS Butuan, 5,178 have already availed themselves of the calamity loan as of Oct. 6. We are expecting that the remaining 11,179 members would still avail themselves of the calamity loan, which will run from Oct. 1 to 31,” Palermo said.

He said 372 of the 2,317 pensioners under the branch had also availed themselves of the calamity loan as of Oct. 6.

Data provided by GSIS Butuan also showed that 751 active members within its areas of operation in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and the second district of Surigao del Sur had availed themselves of the agency’s solar energy loan as of end-September.

Palermo said the solar energy loan allows active members to finance the procurement and installation of solar panels in their homes and is intended to help them cope with rising electricity costs.

“The solar energy loan was recently expanded to include not only active members but also our pensioners,” Palermo said.

As of October, 70 pensioners in the branch’s covered areas had applied for the solar energy loan and were undergoing validation. (PNA)