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Any race is a competition of speed. Competitors try completing a given task in the shortest amount of time. Every minute and every second counts in a race. Whoever clocks in the fastest wins.
In Social Security Services, the race has a new face. The campaign called Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) is a fight for workers who have the right to social security protection. Every day that a worker is not covered by SSS is a day of loss. Anytime, an accident or illness may cripple a worker. Without SSS coverage, the financial impact of such an accident could devastate the entire family.
Clearly, with every RACE operation that SSS undertakes, the workers emerge as winners. Every time that an employer complies with the show-cause order posted in their establishment for violation of the SS law, their employees become active members of the pension fund covered with seven types of benefits from womb to tomb—maternity, sickness, disability, unemployment, retirement, and death/survivor pension.
Akin to a runner-up winner in a race, employers also come out as winners in every RACE operation. After all, no one wants to go through the hassle of a lengthy judicial process or, worse, face imprisonment of a minimum of six years up to a maximum of 12 years. Violation of the SS law has civil and criminal liabilities. In the “Oplan Tokhang” version of SSS in partnership with the Philippine National Police, warrants of arrest are served to delinquent employers based on a court decision. To date, 12 employers have been subjects of this program.
SS law violation could be in the form of non-registration of their business to SSS, non-registration of their employees within 30 days of employment, or non-remittance of monthly contributions on time. A 2-percent penalty per month is imposed for every month of unpaid contributions by employers.
Delinquent employers who become subject of a RACE operation are given a non-extendable period of 15 days from the date of issuance of the show-cause order to explain why no legal action should be taken against them.
The first RACE operation was held in April 2017 in Greenhills, San Juan. Since then, the RACE operations were implemented in the regions, where SSS recorded 75-percent compliance from 115 pre-identified delinquent employers subjected to RACE in the provinces.
After I took the helm at SSS about three months ago, three simultaneous RACE operations have been held nationwide. For every synchronized operation, three SSS teams were deployed in NCR/Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with full media coverage.
In the RACE operations that I joined, I noticed the anticipation of workers in the area that we visited. Aside from explaining to the subject employers the SS violations they have committed and the 15-day grace period given to them to settle their obligations with the pension fund, I talked to their employees too. A good number of them said they have paid SSS contributions in the past years. The usual questions that workers ask during a RACE campaign are: If they can still continue paying SSS contributions when their last payment was years ago, and how can they update their records?
It seems many employees are not aware that SSS membership is lifetime. Once a member, always a member. While the law does not allow retroactive payments for SSS contributions, a member can always resume paying premiums anytime. Updating records like adding beneficiaries is also easy. The member simply has to accomplish the Member Data Amendment form, attach the marriage or birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority, and submit these documents to the nearest SSS branch.
RACE operations are being held frequently because now is an opportune time for delinquent employers to settle unpaid premiums of their employees. The ongoing Contribution Penalty Condonation Program allows them to pay unpaid contributions sans the penalty. Most of the time, penalties are higher than the unpaid premiums. Under CPCP, employers can also opt to pay up to 48 months.
CPCP shall run until September 6, 2019, to encourage more delinquent employers to avail themselves of the program to put their records back to good standing and be able to provide employees with the benefits due them.
The RACE campaign is a race against time. There is no better time than now to do what is right for all employees. Every worker has a right to social security protection the moment they enter the work force.
Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.
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