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THE state-run pension fund has partnered with a private company in a bid to subsidize the contributions of 2,000 informal sector workers based in the cities of Iloilo and Roxas.
Social Security System (SSS) President and CEO Robert Joseph Montes De Claro said in statement emailed to The Manila Times that he just forged a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with DoubleDragon Corp. chairman Edgar "Injap" Sia II that made the company a Contribution Subsidy Provider (CSP).
As a result, De Claro said Sia's DoubleDragon would fully subsidize the SSS contributions for 2,000 informal sector workers in Iloilo City and Roxas City for 12 months.
"It would be a total commitment of P18.2 million — addressing the financial barriers that prevent workers from accessing essential social security benefits," De Claro said.
The SSS chief expressed gratitude to Sia for heeding the call of the agency for government and businesses to support Filipino workers and their families through the SSS Contribution Subsidy Provider Program (CSPP).
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"This SSS contribution subsidy will not only support the 2,000 recipients but will also benefit their extended families," De Claro explained.
"It will provide these informal sector workers with the opportunity to join the SSS and gain access to its benefits," he added.
De Claro reiterated his appreciation to DoubleDragon for supporting SSS in its new role as a CSP.
Under the CSPP, SSS partners with contribution subsidy providers, who may be private or government entities, that commit to paying the contributions on behalf of selected self-employed workers, land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and voluntary members of the SSS.
The minimum subsidy period under the program is six consecutive months, the SSS said.
As a CSPP partner, DoubleDragon aims to make a significant impact in the lives of those who need it most — workers in the informal economy.
Sia believes that DoubleDragon's partnership with the SSS can positively affect thousands of Filipinos.
He shared that this collaboration is his way of reciprocating the assistance he received from the SSS when he was an emerging entrepreneur, noting that the SSS provided him with a corporate loan that enabled him to build a 59-room hotel in Iloilo City in 1997.
After 28 years, Sia remains grateful for the credit facility and looks forward to a continuing, meaningful partnership with the SSS in the years ahead.
