Philippine SSS Amnesty Program for Loans

By Rey Anthony Chiu
Philippine Information Agency

Joining the government in packaging benefits to the people to help them cope with the rising prices, the Social Security System (SSS) is now implementing an amnesty program for loans which took a due, April 30.

  Starting May 1, penalties accumulated by members' delinquent payments of salary, emergency and calamity loans could be condoned, if members avail of the offer, says Jerry Redulla, information officer of the local SSS.

  Earlier, SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo reported that the pension fund would condone penalties on loans of members who would avail of the amnesty, one she admitted is part of the non-wage benefits package offered to workers to mark Labor Day.

  "This is an excellent opportunity for delinquent borrowers to settle their unpaid accounts at a huge discount," she said. 

  Under the amnesty, they would only pay the principal and interest, with their penalties written off by the SSS, she added.

  Meanwhile, during a phone interview, Redulla said unpaid loans may have accumulated penalties in time, discouraging borrowers from payments. This year however, SSS offers writing off the penalties for unpaid loans.

  He stressed that borrowers who avail of the amnesty would only pay for the borrowed amount plus the interest while penalties for delinquency in payments could be staved off, if the application for amnesty gets approved.

  In other words, the amount of penalties to be condoned would be proportionate to the arrears, or the outstanding principal and interest paid by the borrower, he hinted. 

  To keep the payments easy, SSS also accepts partial or in full payments with in the amnesty period. 

  However, according to the senior SSS official in Quezon City, the payments have to be made within the amnesty period. 

  "If only half of the arrears are paid during the amnesty, then only half of the penalties would be condoned, while the balance would continue to accumulate penalties," De la Paz-Bernardo said.

  "This is why we urge borrowers to fully pay their delinquencies within the amnesty to enjoy 100 percent condonation of penalties." 

  The SSS in Bohol has transferred to a new location and it has continued its services in its new place along Putong street this city, Redulla reported.

  Borrowers intending to avail of the condonation could come and visit SSS so they could file for amnesty applications right away, he said.

  The SSS said it expects to collect P2.62 billion in principal and interest from about 620,000 delinquent short-term loan borrowers who had accounts starting 2006.  The amnesty would end on April 30 next year, SSS added. 

  The SSS has been granting salary loans to actively-paying members with at least 36 contribution payments. Previous loans granted to members include calamity, emergency, educational, study now-pay later, vocational/technical, Y2K, stock investment and privatization fund loans.

  More than 540,000 delinquent borrowers benefited from five amnesty periods for SSS short-term loans, the last of which was from January to June 2007. The SSS also has an ongoing amnesty for housing loan borrowers, an SSS press statement said.