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Ka Leody urges SSS not to suspend pension of seniors yet to get PESONet accounts
By RICHA NORIEGA,GMA NewsPresidential candidate and labor leader Leody de Guzman on Thursday appealed to the Social Security System (SSS) to extend the deadline for senior citizens to finish their requirements to change their bank accounts to PESONet participating banks.
De Guzman issued the call after he received reports from senior citizens who were worried of not getting their pensions.
The SSS earlier issued a circular
stating that it will suspend the pension of those who do not change their disbursement accounts by March 31.“Humihiling ako sa SSS Board na huwag agad isuspinde ang mga pensyon ng mga hindi pa nakalipat sa PESONet. Bigyan sila ng mas mahabang panahon para asikasuhin ang kanilang mga requirements,” he said.
(I appeal to the SSS Board not to immediately suspend the pensions of those who have not yet transferred to PESONet. Give them more time to complete of their requirements.)
The labor leader, citing a survey from Bangko Sentral in 2019, said only 29% of adult Filipinos have bank accounts.
“Hindi rin malawak ang coverage ng PESONet. 94 lamang sa kabuuang 6,899 bangko at iba pang pinansyal na mga institusyon ang saklaw ng PESONet. Mahirap itong gawin lalo na sa mga nasa malalayong probinsya,” he said.
(The coverage of PESOnet is also not that wide. Only 94 of the total 6,899 banks and other financial institutions are covered by PESOnet. This is difficult to do especially to those in remote provinces.)
“Nanawagan ako sa mga opisyal ng SSS na kilalanin ang limitasyon ng mga kapwa ko pensyonado, na hindi ito agad na maaasikaso dahil makatuwirang mga dahilan (kalusugan, transportasyon, internet, at komunikasyon, atbp),” he added.
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(I called on SSS officials to recognize the limitation of my fellow pensioners, that it cannot be addressed immediately due to justifiable reasons: health, transportation, internet and communication, etc.)
He also appealed to SSS to speed up the process in distributing funds to the pensioners.
“Ang kanilang tinatanggap ay mula sa kanilang mga kontribusyon sa mahabang panahon ng pagsusumikap; at higit nila itong kailangan ngayon sa gitna ng mga krisis sa kalusugan at kabuhayan,” he added.
(What they receive comes from their contributions over a long period of hard work; and they need it more now amid health and livelihood crises.)
GMA News Online sought comment from the SSS but it has yet to reply as of posting time.
The SSS has started to release the second batch of pensions for January 2021, covering some 1.12 million pensioners with combined pensions amounting to P5.19 billion.
Pensioners in the second batch are those whose date of contingency is from January 16 to 31 who receive pensions through PESONet participating banks or e-wallets, or via cash pick-up arrangement at M. Lhuillier through the Cash Padala of the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, pensioners who still receive their pensions through checks or non-PESONet participating banks will get their January 2021 pensions on their date of contingency or the old disbursement schedule.—AOL, GMA News