THE Visayas West 1 Division of the Social Security System (SSS) targets the collection of P18.2 million worth of past-due contributions from 52 delinquent employers tagged during a series of Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) campaign in Negros Occidental this month.
SSS Vice President for Visayas West 1 Division Dr. Lilani Benedian said that violations by these employers include failure to register their business with SSS and non-remittance of their employees’ contributions.
“We intensified our campaign to call out these employers to fulfill their legal obligations. As mandated by the law, they must register their businesses and report for coverage all of their employees regardless of their employment status, deduct from the salaries of their employees their share in the monthly SSS contributions, including employee compensation, and remit these regularly to the SSS,” Benedian said.
Employer’s full compliance shall make their workers eligible for Social Security (SS) benefits such as sickness, maternity, disability, unemployment, retirement, death, and funeral, including short-term loan privileges such as salary and calamity loans, she said,
On top of the SS benefits, they can also avail of Employees’ Compensation (EC) benefits for work-related contingencies such as sickness, injury, or death, she added.
“The conduct of these operations is essential for our members. It is our responsibility to ensure that they are given the lawful benefit that they are entitled to at times of contingencies, thus collection of contributions is highly significant,” Benedian added.
Benedian shared that the regionwide conduct of RACE operations resulted in a significant increase in delinquency collection of P45.64 million, or 80 percent, from January to April 2023 compared to the P192.30 million total from the same period last year.
“We are confident that collection will continue its ascent throughout the year since we also offer the Contribution Penalty Condonation Program where business owners are given the opportunity to settle their delinquent accounts through a one-time payment or installment terms up to 48 months with five percent downpayment of the principal delinquency and full payment of EC contributions,” Benedian said.
SSS shall assist those business employers who wish to avail of the contribution penalty condonation program through the SSS branch that has jurisdiction over their registered business address.
For inquiries, they may send them to any of these SSS email accounts: bago@sss.gov.ph (Bago branch); kabankalan@sss.gov.ph (Kabankalan Branch); sagay@sss.gov.ph (Sagay Branch); sancarlos@sss.gov.ph (San Carlos Branch); victorias@sss.gov.ph (Victorias Branch); bacolod@sss.gov.ph (Bacolod Branch); bacolod-east@sss.gov.ph (Bacolod East Branch). (PR)