The Government Service Insurance System ( GSIS ), the Philippines’ largest pension fund, reported its fund size reached 1.88 trillion pesos ( US$33.07 billion ) as of June 2025, according to preliminary figures. This is an increase of 340 billion pesos, or 22%, from 1.54 trillion pesos at the end of 2021. Total income stood at 172.7 billion pesos, a year-on-year growth of 14.35%.

The bump in its asset size and total income comes as Jose Arnulfo “Wick” A. Veloso, GSIS president and general manager, faces a six-month preventive suspension by the Ombudsman, the country’s anti-graft agency, a decision he is actively challenging.

As of June 2025, approximately 72% of the GSIS investment portfolio is strategically allocated to relatively risk-free assets such as government securities, loans to members, and real estate, reflecting a stability-focused approach. The remaining portfolio includes 19% in equities, 5% in private equity funds invested in infrastructure, and 4% in cash and near-cash items.

Net income stood at 77 billion pesos, marking a healthy 31% rise from June 2024. According to Veloso, these positive financial outcomes have enabled GSIS to extend its fund life up to 2058, or for 33 more years, ensuring its long-term ability to deliver benefits to its members and retirees on time.

Veloso emphasizes that his mandate has always been to protect and grow the GSIS fund through prudent, opportunity-driven strategies for the benefit of government workers and pensioners.

Suspension over investment

The GSIS’ strong financial standing provides context to the recent development concerning Veloso's six-month preventive suspension. In a statement, he reveals that the suspension, dated July 11 and signed on July 15, was based “solely on an anonymous and unverified complaint”.

He expressed surprise that the Ombudsman issued the order without considering his counter-affidavit, which he stated was timely filed, noting that he had been granted an extension to submit it by July 21. Veloso highlighted that the Ombudsman proceeded "without waiting" for his submission, relying instead on “bare allegations”.

The suspension is linked to GSIS’s 1.45 billion pesos acquisition of 100 million preferred shares in Alternergy Holdings Corporation, a renewable energy company majority owned by Vince Perez, a former Philippine energy secretary. Veloso staunchly defends this investment, asserting that it complies with all applicable rules and has a positive financial contribution to the fund.

The investment underwent “rigorous evaluation and endorsement by the GSIS investment team”, whose technical expertise confirmed its alignment with established parameters, he argues.

GSIS policy requires board approval only for investments exceeding 1.5 billion pesos. Since the Alternergy investment was 1.45 billion pesos, it fell “well within the authority delegated to the president and general manager”, and “no board approval was legally required”.

Republic Act No. 8291 permits GSIS to invest in preferred or common shares of listed corporations. Veloso confirmed that Alternergy has been listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange since March 2023 and remains under full regulatory oversight.

He clarifies that market capitalization and free-float thresholds, intended for publicly traded common shares to manage liquidity risk, are not applicable here because the Alternergy investment was for “non-traded preferred shares, which are fixed-income instruments designed for yield, not for trading”.

Financially, the investment has already proven beneficial, with GSIS earning 117.9 million pesos in cash dividends from Alternergy in 2024, “barely a year after the investment was made”, he reveals. Veloso says this return “strengthens the GSIS fund and directly benefits our members and pensioners – clearly disproving any suggestion of financial loss or mismanagement”.

Veloso, drawing on his decades of experience in finance and investments, remains confident that a “full and fair review of the facts will affirm the integrity of the Alternergy investment”, confirming it was conducted “within legal bounds, policy limits, and fiduciary standards – and was made solely with the best interests of GSIS members in mind”.