Press Release
June 16, 2009

Proposed SSS Condonation Law now pending in bicam

The proposed measure seeking to allow the Social Security System (SSS) to condone penalties for companies with records of delinquent policy contributions is now ready for bicameral discussions, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri has announced.

Senate Bill No. 2454, which the senator authored, would allow erring employers to remit their employees' delinquent payments even without paying penalties earned from late payments.

The measure was approved on third reading by the Senate before it adjourned sine die for a one-month break.

Zubiri said the grant of amnesty for the penalties would redound to the benefit of the hundreds of thousands of workers whose employers have not been paying their contributions to SSS, using the same for other corporate financial requirements.

"This measure, once enacted into law, would be good both for the companies and the employees. Employers would only have to pay the basic contributions while employees would then be free to avail of SSS services, such as salary loans and medical reimbursements," he said.

Under the proposed bill, which shall be known as the "Social Security Condonation law of 2009" when signed into law, any employer who is delinquent or has not remitted all contributions due and payable to the SSS, including those with pending cases before the Social Security Commission, courts or Office of the Prosecutor, may remit the unpaid contributions or submit an installment proposal on how it plans to pay the unpaid dues.

For installment payments, a down payment of not less than 10% of the total contributions shall be paid, with the remaining balance to be paid in equal monthly installments within a period not exceeding 36 months from the date of the approval of the installment proposal.

Zubiri said recidivists, or those who would repeatedly fail to remit contributions on time, would be penalized to discourage them from making tardy payments a habit.

To date, the SSS has a total of P107 billion in collection arrears. Of the amount, P95 billion is the principal amount while P12 billion comprise the penalties to be condoned once the bill becomes a law.

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