Spare Duterte from SSS pension hike issue, Diokno says

The Social Security System and Congress should not place President Rodrigo Duterte on a spot where he had to decide whether to approve the proposed P2,000 across-the-board pension hike for SSS members, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Tuesday.

"To me, it’s unfair to give the problem to him. In fact, it’s unfair for Congress to have passed that law, which, as you know, [former] President [Benigno] Aquino [III] vetoed, ano," Diokno said in a news briefing in Malacañang.

The House Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization approved the measure in September, while the Senate in December passed a resolution calling for an immediate increase.

The Social Security System (SSS) in October proposed six options on how to implement the proposed P2,000 across-the-board increase in the monthly pension of retirees without overwhelming the coffers of the pension fund for private sector employees.

SSS chair Amado Valdez has repeatedly expressed support for the pension hike, something that Duterte's economic managers are against.

"I understand some corporations have been indebted to SSS, maybe they could call on them, right. But you know, when you pass the buck and give it to the President, that to me is unfair for the President, okay," Diokno said.

Diokno said that Duterte did not have to veto any document as Congress had yet to issue a joint resolution.

He said that Duterte only received a memorandum from SSS on the pension hike.

"He can give it [SSS memorandum] back and say, ‘Look, I appointed you there to solve the problem, okay. Come up with a solution,’" Diokno said.

If I were the President, I would do that, okay. I appointed you there specifically to come up with a solution. You manage a private fund, okay. Manage a private fund," he added.

Diokno and Duterte's other economic managers, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, have already given Duterte their position paper on the matter. —NB, GMA News