EVEN before John Naisbitt, author of the 1982 blockbuster book Megatrends, said that there will be migration of workers from North to South and vice versa, the phenomenon of Filipino diaspora to job-rich countries had already begun a decade before.
For the past 40 years, labor migration from the Philippines continued to grow each year, with figures doubling over the last 10 years. Today around 12 percent of the country’s population are overseas, either as land-based or sea-based workers. According to the 2013 Country Migration Report, published by the International Organization for Migration, “for many years, the Philippines has figured among the top countries of origin in the traditional immigration countries”: the top 4 of which are the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada.
In response to this phenomenon, the Social Security System (SSS) since 1992 has pursued the social-security coverage of overseas Filipino workers, albeit on a voluntary basis. Representative offices were set up in places like Brunei; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Hong Kong; Macau; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Bahrain; Doha, Qatar; Dubai, UAE; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Al-Khobar and Jeddah); Italy (Milan and Rome); and London, United Kingdom, to bring SSS services closer to Filipinos abroad.
Some countries are more open to forging bilateral agreements with the Philippines for the purpose of promoting mutual cooperation in the field of social security, for the benefit of their respective nationals and the Filipino workers. This is one tack that is strongly being followed by the SSS management in providing social-security protection to Filipino workers wherever they may be. Since 2012, four countries have signed bilateral Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with the Philippines, namely, Denmark (signed on September 11, 2012); Portugal (signed on September 14, 2014); Germany (signed on September 19, 2014); and Luxembourg (signed on May 15, 2015).
The first two have been ratified by President Aquino and have been transmitted to the Senate for concurrence to the presidential ratification as required under the Philippine Constitution. The next two will be submitted to the President for ratification, and then transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.
Soon to be signed are SSAs with Sweden and Japan, which are expected to be done within the second semester of 2015.
The salient features of these SSAs include:
- Equality of treatment—A covered Filipino, including his/her dependents and survivors, shall be eligible to social-security benefits under the same conditions as the nationals of the host country.
- Export of benefits—A person shall continue to receive his/her benefits wherever he/she decides to reside.
- Totalization—Contributions/creditable periods in both countries shall be added (excluding overlaps) to determine qualification for benefits.
- Payment of benefits—Both countries that are party to the agreement shall pay a fraction of the benefit due from their respective systems, in proportion to the actual contributions/creditable periods.
- Mutual administrative assistance—Covered members or beneficiaries may file their claims with the designated liaison agencies of the Philippines or the host country, which shall accordingly extend assistance to facilitate processing of claims.
At present, the Philippines has bilateral agreements on social security with the following countries: Austria (effective April 1982); the United Kingdom/Northern Ireland (September 1989); Spain (October 1989); France (November 1994); Canada (March 1997); Quebec (November 1998); Switzerland (March 2004); and Belgium (August 2005).
For more information about the SSS and its programs, call our 24-hour call center at (632) 920-6446 to 55, Monday to Friday, or send an e-mail to member_relations@sss.gov.ph.
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Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the Social Security System. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.