Second of two parts
Last week, I discussed the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program (SBWS), which is a collaborative project among three government institutions led by the Department of Finance (DOF), in cooperation with the Social Security System (SSS) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), to assist the more than 3 million workers of small and medium business enterprises negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The program—which opened on April 17, 2020 and ended on June 24 in the same year—was offered for only two months due to its limited budget allocation. SSS disbursed around P23.53 billion worth of financial aid to 3.08 million qualified workers in the first tranche. The second tranche covered a total amount of P22.08 billion and benefitted 3.05 million employees nationwide.
While this is the first time that SSS was tapped to carry out such a significant project, it is very inspiring to know these small business owners were delighted that the national government initiated extending financial assistance to them and their workers. The majority lauded the government efforts, pointing out that during this crisis, the wage subsidies served as a great relief for them and their employees who did not receive any salary during the lockdown due to temporary and permanent closures of businesses.
Impact and learnings
SBWS helped millions of workers and provided SSS and our partner agencies quite a few valuable lessons in implementing subsidy programs.
First, an updated database is key to the success of a subsidy program. Identifying the rightful beneficiaries who will receive financial assistance is indeed challenging, especially if the list is not readily available. SSS was tapped for the SBWS program primarily for its organized and extensive database of private-sector employers and members nationwide.
We know the value of an updated record in granting the benefits to the rightful beneficiaries. And this is why we are continually reminding employers and members to regularly update their SSS records.
Second, implementing the SBWS program amplified the need for government institutions like SSS to embrace digitalization. Using the latest technological advancements can increase efficiency and speed up the delivery of government services to the public.
For this reason, we have been intensifying our efforts to expand our online services portfolio as part of the ExpreSSS campaign with the tagline: “Mas pinadali. Mas pinasimple. Mas pinabilis.” For the SBWS program, we successfully offered the required services online, from the application stage to disbursement of benefits.
Even before the pandemic, SSS has been working to make all its transactions available online. On May 31, 2021, even Maternity Benefit applications and reimbursement will be included as part of our digital services, along with sickness, unemployment, retirement, and death benefits. Even applications for loan offerings, like salary loans, can be facilitated through the My.SSS or SSS Mobile App.
Finally, the program gave emphasis to the use of digital payment methods to distribute government aid. A recent study conducted by a fintech payment company revealed that half of the online shopping transactions last year were coursed through cashless payment methods. Digital payment platforms are already gaining traction among Filipinos. We see it as an opportunity to shift from traditional face-to-face payouts to digital platform in disbursing government financial assistance.
In SBWS, we directly credited the wage subsidies to the worker-assigned bank account or e-wallet account. In addition to the convenience it offers, direct crediting of government aid has also eliminated corruption and helped stem the spread of the dreaded Covid-19 among beneficiaries who used to congregate and line up to receive aid.
While we learned a lot from the SBWS experience, we at SSS are also honored to play a significant role in implementing the government’s Bayanihan to Heal as One Act Program to assist the Filipino workers through this health crisis.
Have a safe and healthy week ahead!
Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.
We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss.gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.
1 comment
is it stil available this pandemic?