SSS mulls ‘Tokhang’ vs delinquent employers

MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System will intensify its collection of remittances through its own version of “Oplan Tokhang” to strike fear among employers who willfully violate the laws on mandatory payment of shared monthly SSS contribution of their employees.

The planned campaign of the SSS against delinquent employers takes off from the anti-illegal drug campaign of the Philippine National Police (PNP) dubbed as Operation: Katok at Hangyo (knock and plead) popularly known as Oplan Tokhang.

The warning came a day after President Duterte approved the first tranche of P1,000 increase in the monthly pension for 2.2 million SSS retirees effective Jan. 1. The increase in the monthly pension comes with 1.5 percent increase in the monthly contributions by May this year.

Marisu Bugante, SSS vice president for public affairs, issued the stern warning yesterday after she admitted 20 million of 34 million SSS employees and self-employed members have been delinquent in paying their monthly premium contributions to the SSS.

The SSS reported P119 billion members’ contributions from January to October last year. Of this amount, 87 percent or P103.3 billion was from 14 million SSS members who religiously pay their monthly contributions.              

Speaking yesterday at the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay, Bugante admitted delinquent remittances have been causing much of the financial problems of the SSS through the years.

“We may adopt Oplan Tokhang if only to collect these delinquent remittances through court actions,” Bugante said. 

Bugante clarified the SSS version of Oplan Tokhang will follow the judicial process of filing and prosecuting estafa cases against employers who have not remitted what they have deducted and collected from the monthly pay slips of their employees and workers.

SSS chairman Amado Valdez announced yesterday the SSS would conduct a “shame campaign,” especially against big corporations that have been delinquent in remitting SSS contributions.

Valdez bared the SSS would soon issue a bench warrant against the top executive of a big corporation for not heeding SSS summons. He refused to identify the corporation.

Bugante said SSS lawyers would press for the conviction of erring employers and violators of the SSS laws under Republic Act 8282.

To date, the SSS has filed 7,000 cases. The courts so far resolved in favor of the SSS 2,000 of these cases.

Under the SSS law, penalty for non-remittance of employer-employee contributions ranges from six to 12 years in jail. One month delay in remittance will result in an office visit by SSS to the company concerned. The SSS issues summons to the erring company if the remittance is delayed by six months.    

As of October 2016, the SSS has 932,293 registered employers. With only 6,000 personnel all over the country, it takes time for the SSS to detect the delinquent payments, Bugante said.

SSS members can check if their employers have been remitting their monthly contributions by visiting the SSS website.

Bugante said some of the uncollected and low remittances were the result of the closure of some companies or merger with other firms without reporting to the SSS.

In most cases, Bugante noted, companies that suffered losses or employees who lost their jobs come to the SSS to resume their remittances but request that penalties be waived.

Under the SSS law, delayed remittances are meted with three percent interest rate per month or 36 percent per annum.

Bugante said the SSS would seek the support of Congress to amend the penalty provision to grant authority to the SSS Commission to lighten the penalty rate and to condone penalty if the case of the company merits it.

Meanwhile, the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) urged SSS to reform its system by trimming down the fat bonuses of its high-ranking officials. 

“The SSS should also improve its collection efficiency by pinning down non-remitting employers, stop corruption within and act on 7,000 delinquent employers now pending in the courts,” ALU spokesman Alan Tanjusay said yesterday. – With Artemio Dumlao