Arroyo urged to sign SSS condonation bill into law

A lawmaker on Thursday urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to immediately sign into law a measure seeking a one-time amnesty for penalties on unpaid employers' remittances to the Social Security System (SSS). In a statement, Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III said the bill, which the House ratified on Wednesday, should be immediately signed into law to help ensure that ordinary and privately employed individuals can avail of SSS benefits in light of the devastations caused by tropical storm "Ondoy" and typhoon "Pepeng" over the past few weeks. "In the light of Ondoy and Pepeng which brought devastation to a lot of areas in the country, it is important that the benefits of SSS members such as calamity, housing, and other loan packages, be made available. That can only happen if payments are now considered up-to-date. This bill hopes to do that," said Tanada, principal author of the House version of the measure. A bicameral panel reconciled the Senate and House versions of the bill last week. According to the lawmaker, the bill will grant the SSS a one-time authority to condone 100 percent of the penalties slapped on unpaid employers' remittances. It will also provide installment options for those who would like to settle through staggered payment over a period of 48 months. The bill will also provide companies a mechanism to pay their delinquent principal payments without the "staggering penalties" that would have accumulated for years, he said. Under the bill, those who want to settle by installment basis will still have to shell out 5 percent of its total contribution delinquency, the balance of which the employer can pay on installment for up to 48 months with a 3 percent per annum interest, Tanada said. Employers with pending cases because of their delinquency status can avail of the condonation program upon approval and payment in full or in installments of contributions due and payable to the SSS and have their cases withdrawn. But the cases can be refiled in case the employer fails to remit in full the required delinquent contributions or defaults in the payments of any installment under the approved proposal. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV