“PAY your employees’ remittances or face charges.”
The warning came from Social Security System (SSS) president and chief executive officer Michael Regino, as he stressed that employers should not be remiss in the payment of the contribution of their workers.
Regino, who was in Bacolod City for the SSS Stakeholders Forum at the Acacia Hotel Tuesday, November 8, 2022, emphasized that employers are the agency’s partner.
In Negros Occidental, several employers were issued show cause orders for their failure to pay their employers through the Run After Contribution Evaders program (Race).
“Race is a program which is not meant to apprehend the erring employees. Rather, it is a sort of a reminder for them that if they are delayed in paying the contribution of their employees,” he stressed.
Regino reiterated that employers are mandated by law to pay their employees’ contribution because its for their workers’ benefits.
The SSS came up with a condonation program, which is a way for them [employees] to easily pay the contribution if they have been remiss in doing so, especially those whose businesses have incurred losses due to the restrictions on the height of the pandemic.
“Instead of paying the contribution of two percent every month or 20 percent annually, they were allowed to pay six percent instead,” the SSS official noted.
This means that those that have arrears or have failed to pay remittances from February 2020 to March 2022, will no longer need to pay extra charges for penalties, he explained.
For those who continue to defy, he said that aside from legal charges, the SSS may impose the warrant of distrain, levy and garnishment.
To assist its stakeholders better, the SSS have already gone digital in terms of transactions since they cannot anymore accommodate the bulk of members' inquiry over the counter.
However, those who are in the fur-flung areas with no internet connections, can still go to SSS branches for over the counter transactions, Regino disclosed.
The agency is also set to implement the “SSS on wheels” and has in fact acquired 38 new vehicles to reach more remote areas.
Meanwhile, Regino reminded SSS employees to be empathetic in dealing with their clienteles and members.
“They each have a different level of empathy but sometimes they are already tired from working the whole day,” he said.
The SSS is the agency that deals with so many transactions a day but Regino said that their employment has a noble purpose, which is to provide social protection to our members.
“We apologize yet it is not our intention,” he said when asked about the misdemeanors of some SSS employees.
“If you want to make complaints you can write us and if you also would like to compliment and acknowledge our employees, you may also do so because they need it,” he advised.