Cebu business leaders call on SSS to fix mess

CEBU, Philippines – Leaders of the Cebu business sector have urged the Social Security System (SSS) to fix its problem internally in order to continue its services to its members, rather than imposing an instant policy that shocked employees who are diligently paying their loans and remittances.

SSS has imposed a new policy last week that rejects all loans and claims applications of millions of SSS members across the country, if their employers have delinquencies in remitting the appropriate contributions and loan payments of their employees.

However, negative criticisms against the new policy stemmed from the fact that even if a company has been diligently remitting the loan payments and contributions of its employees at present, previous problems from as far three decades ago with regards to unpaid remittances and loans will still put off applications for loans and benefit claims.

"This issue requires immediate investigation. Policies and enforcement must be put in place," said Cebu Business Club (CBC) president Dondi Joseph.

Joseph said if there are companies who are abusing SSS, in any way by being delinquent, proper enforcement of the policies should be implemented.

"I am not certain who has police power over this but if this is accurate the SSS should stop talking and take strong action," Joseph added.

Likewise, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president Eric Ng Mendoza, called the state-owned security insurance agency to strengthen its monitoring in terms of collection.

"It is a matter of SSS strict monitoring and implementation, they should enforce strictly so that employees are protected," Mendoza said.

Records have it that currently employed SSS members make up 83 percent of the total P6.8 million delinquent short-term loan accounts which include salary, calamity, emergency, educational, study-now-pay later, vocational, stock investment and privatization fund loans.

SSS-Cebu head for members assistance division Maria Teresa Gelbolingo said she understands the sentiments of the members who have been diligent in paying their contributions and loan payments, however she said the Cebu-based officials are only following the directives from the national office.

Gelbolingo added that these previous delinquencies are the fault of the employers who failed to go after their personnel who have delinquencies in their SSS accounts. She said it is the duty of the employers to collect the appropriate payments from their staff and remit the same to the SSS. Should the employee separate with the company before all loan obligations have been paid, the employer must deduct the entire amount from the employee's benefits to be able to pay the SSS with the said obligations.

She said what usually happens is that the employers will no longer do anything about the SSS loan obligations of the employee once they resign or terminated from the company.

On the other hand, employees, whose employers have been religiously deducting their monthly SSS remittance as well as loan payments from their salaries described the new policy as unfair, saying SSS should only ban those concerned delinquent borrowers and not everyone.

For the past years, SSS has offered an amnesty program for businesses that failed to remit their employees' loan amortizations, but still many have failed to comply or did not bother at all.

The new policy mandates that unless the employers settle all of its overdue contributions and loan obligations, their employees will continue to bear the brunt of these past delinquencies and cannot avail of their own SSS benefits. (FREEMAN)