MANILA - The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is set to launch two loan programs in the coming months to help government workers pay for tuition and buy computers for distance learning, the country's finance chief said Wednesday.

The GSIS on Aug. 1 will introduce a P30,000 computer loan program for those who need to buy a desktop or laptop due to new education schemes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.

"Next month, GSIS will introduce a new P30,000 computer loan program to its active members to help them purchase a laptop or desktop in light of the new normal of holding distance or online classes," he said in an economic forum ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte's penultimate State of the Nation Address this month.

The loans can be paid in three years at 6-percent interest, Dominguez said.

The GSIS will launch another loan program on Sept. 17 to help Filipinos pay for the education of their beneficiaries.

Dominguez said members of GSIS can take out a maximum loan of P100,000 per academic school year for their nominated student-beneficiaries.

The loans are payable after five years from initial loan take out, he added.

Following the lockdowns earlier this year, Filipinos have shifted to "work-from-home" schemes and distance learning to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

• SSS pandemic calamity loan program open until Sept. 14