Hontiveros questions ‘unacceptably low’ SSS unemployment benefits for workers displaced by COVID-19

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday said the unemployment benefit released by the Social Security System (SSS) in previous months amid the COVID-19 pandemic was "unacceptably low."

"Sa milyong-milyong Pilipino na nawalan ng trabaho ngayong may pandemya, bakit kakarampot lang ang nabigyan ng unemployment insurance ng Social Security System?" the opposition senator said in a statement.

Hontiveros initially raised her concern during the Senate hearing on the budget of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) where she pointed out that only around 34,000 workers have received the SSS unemployment benefit as of October 1 and that only 60,000 are projected to receive such.

Citing the Labor Force Survey, she stressed that there were 7.2 million Filipinos who experienced job displacement in April.

"Comparing that to the number of workers who received unemployment benefits from SSS these past few months, that means only 0.83 percent of displaced workers have received assistance from the SSS," Hontiveros said.

"Hindi naman yata katanggap-tanggap na ganyang kaliit lang ang matutulungan ng SSS ngayong marami ang manggagawang nawalan ng trabaho at kita," she added.

The DOLE should help rectify this "alarming situation" since it is part of the SSS governing board, according to the senator.

She said it should investigate what hampered the SSS from releasing the unemployment benefits faster and on a wider scale, including the possibility that some delinquent employers failed to remit their employees' monthly contribution.

"DOLE must strictly monitor employers and ensure that these entities are able to remit mandatory employee benefits such as SSS contributions, so that in cases of emergencies, the employees will have something to tide them over during the crisis," she said.

GMA News Online reached out to the SSS for comment on the senator's remark but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

To qualify for the SSS' unemployment benefit, a member-applicant must have paid at least 36 monthly contributions, of which 12 months should have been paid within the 18-month-period before the month of involuntary separation.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora Ignacio previously explained in a press release that thousands of applications for the unemployment benefit have been rejected due to failure to submit documentary requirements, or discrepancies and incomplete information found in submitted documents. — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News