MANILA, Philippines - Hundreds of farmers (bottom photo) who are members of irrigators associations (IAs) across Central Luzon applaud upon hearing the value of Social Security System (SSS) membership during the IA’s general assembly in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. The event’s highlight was the signing of an agreement between SSS and Deep Well Sumulong Irrigators Association (DWSIA), which accredits the DWSIA to facilitate its members’ SSS registration and applications for loans and funeral benefits. DWSIA will also provide a counterpart subsidy to double its members’ SSS savings and enable them to get bigger SSS benefits, as part of the agreement. The tie up is a major step towards boosting SSS coverage of about 69,000 farmers in Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan provinces, in line with the pension fund’s thrust to extend protection to self-employed and informal sector workers. Commissioner Ibarra Malonzo (top photo, left), Social Security Commission (SSC) labor representative and chair of the SSC Committee on Coverage and Collection, urged the attendees to save for their future through the SSS. Looking on are (top photo, from left) Cristino Castillo, acting division 3 manager of the National Irrigation Authority-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-UPRIIS); Jose Bautista, SSS senior vice president for NCR and Luzon Operations; Vilma Agapito, SSS assistant vice president for Central Luzon; and Maximo Hernal, the DWSIA president who signed the agreement on behalf of the association.