A TOTAL of P343 million has been settled by the Government Service Insurance System to the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the insurance claim of a PNP chopper that met an accident in Laguna in 2020.
GSIS immediately settled the claim after both parties acknowledged the private adjuster’s report and upon PNP’s acceptance of the settlement offer for the claim.
The amount is the largest insurance payout approved by GSIS last year, GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said.
The chopper, a 2017 Bell 429 Helicopter, carried eight people during the accident, including then-PNP Chief Archie Gamboa.
PNP’s insurance premium payment to GSIS for the aircraft was compensated a hundredfold for the accident including the medical expenses of the passengers.
To date, the police agency has nine other aircrafts insured with the pension fund.
PNP Chief Debold Sinas thanked GSIS for the assistance in facilitating the insurance claim, saying it provided the police agency the financial flexibility to procure a replacement unit to keep them on track with requirements for air mobility.
He also underscored the importance of insuring government assets and property with GSIS as doing so accords protection and security for the properties of agencies like the PNP.
But more than insurance protection, I believe the PNP should first have aircraft such as choppers that are in top condition to provide real safety for passengers including our policemen.
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There’s no stopping San Miguel Corporation in fighting the pandemic. Most of the conglomerate’s responses aimed at helping those hardly hit by the global health crisis.
Its food assistance program for families in the poorest districts of Tondo has reached 55,000 kilos of staple goods, distributed weekly to families since the health crisis struck in March last year.
The program is just one of several initiatives undertaken by SMC’s Better World Tondo feeding and community learning center.
For the past 10 months, some 465 families have been receiving grocery products every week from SMC’s Better World Tondo community center.
The grocery packs consist of meat and other frozen products and various canned goods from SMC’s food unit, San Miguel Foods, as well as fish and vegetables.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, the center shifted its operations from providing daily meals to handing out weekly groceries for children attending its after-school program and their families.
“Through our SMC Better World Tondo, we’ve been able to have a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of our families there. Even if the children are not able to attend daily classes and have their meals at the center, every week, we provide grocery products for their entire families, to make sure they stay healthy, and also help keep more of them at home,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang.
“We assure the families that our San Miguel Foundation and San Miguel Foods will continue this program. We recognize that our poorest families also continue to be the most vulnerable to the impacts of this pandemic, and we will continue to find ways to help them out,” Ang added.
Meanwhile, there are talks about endorsements for Ang to run for president in next year’s elections. Although Ang has been silent on the issue, many think he’s a wise choice.
Why not?
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