The Social Security System (SSS) Visayas West 1 Division aims to collect P18.2 million worth of past-due contributions from 52 delinquent employers tagged during its Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) Campaign in Negros Occidental this month.
On Monday 16 delinquent employers in Bacolod were served notices to pay P8.3 million.
The violations of the employers are failure to register their business to SSS and non-remittance of their employees’ contribution, Dr. Lilani B. Benedian, SSS Vice President for Visayas West 1 Division, said in a press release Tuesday, June 27.
“We intensified our campaign to call out these employers to fulfill their legal obligations. As mandated by the law, they must register their businesses and report for coverage all of their employees regardless of their employment status, deduct from the salaries of their employees their share in the monthly SSS contributions including Employees Compensation and remit these regularly to the SSS,” Benedian said.
Employer’s full compliance will enable their workers to avail of SSS benefits such as sickness, maternity, disability, unemployment, retirement, death and funeral, including short-term loan privileges such as salary and calamity loan, she said.
They can also avail of Employees’ Compensation (EC) benefits for work-related contingencies such as sickness, injury or death, she added.
“The conduct of these operations is essentially for our members. It is our responsibility to ensure that they are given the lawful benefit that they are entitled to at times of contingencies,” Benedian said.
She said the region-wide conduct of RACE operations has resulted to a significant increase in delinquency collection by P45.64 million or 80 percent from January to April 2023 from the P192.30 million total from the same period of last year.
The SSS Contribution Penalty Condonation Program gives business owners the opportunity to settle their delinquent accounts through one-time payment or instalment terms up to 48 months with five percent down payment of the principal delinquency and full payment of EC contributions, she said.*