"The government is planning to privatize the country's two state-controlled pension funds - The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS)," said Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo.
GSIS has assets of about P80 billion while SSS has assets worth about P100 billion. Together, the two funds cover about 20 million people, nearly a third of the country's 68-million population.
The Finance Secretary said this was the third wave of privatization because the government's program began with the divestment of its stakes in firms originally in the private sector but later transferred to state control. The second phase covered infrastructure firms like Napocor (National Power Corporation) and MWSS (Metropolitan Water Works and Sewerage System). MWSS's privatization will be completed at the end of 1996, while that of Napocor will start next year.
De Ocampo said that the privatization was linked to the government's objective of trimming bureaucracy. With firms out of government control, there is no longer a need of a bigger workforce, which only requires a smaller bureaucracy.
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