P1K LGU medical aid equals 

3 months of SSS coverage 

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, February 6 (PIA)—How much does a local government unit (LGU) dish out when a casual or contractual worker gets confined to a medical facility and pleads for help in the accumulated bills? 

It is generally over a thousand pesos, according to information from local government units. 

And how long does a thousand pesos go in helping these favored workers? One shot. Sometimes, this is even too small to free the patient from his hospital obligations. 

That amount, had the LGU realized, could have been 3 months of Social Security System (SSS) coverage already, where the worker can already benefit from the medical benefits from the SSS, or employees’ compensation (EC) if the ailment happened to be work-related. 

Cognizant of the dire situation of casual and contractual workers in LGUs when they fall ill, Social Security System (SSS) authorities propose a scheme to make social coverage much better and more equitable to workers who are toiling sans employer-employee relations. 

The SSS proposes to LGUs to institutionalize its enrolment of casual and contractual workers as self-employed members to the SSS, while when capable, share in the monthly contributions. 

At P330.00 for voluntary membership a month, the casual or contractual worker can pay for his monthly contributions or P990.00 a quarter, and the LGU only needs to sign an agreement with the SSS to collect for the SSS the monthly or quarterly contribution and designate a liaison officer to do the job, explains SSS Bohol head Engr. Alieta Basubas, at the Kapihan sa PIA. 

And a better scheme which some LGUs are doing is to use some of its social funds, from which local chief executives use to bail out its constituents from dire situations. 

In the election season, local chief executives with the expressed consent from the local legislators can even use portions of their social funds to pay for the SSS contributions of their casual and contractual workers. 

Normally, for three consecutive and uninterrupted terms of nine years with the LGU contributing for the casual and contractual workers, the worker would only need a full year of contributions to complete the 120 months of contributions and be eligible for retirement benefits, Basubas added. 

And so as to make sure the worker also helps in the contribution, the LGU may opt to agree with the casual or contractual worker to cost share: this stretches the LGU social funds while empowering the worker to save for their social security. 

At P500.00 per quarter, that would be as low as P166.00 a month, and the LGU can already rest, secure in the feeling that the contribution has already helped its constituents, according to the SSS chief. 

They could even make it as a campaign platform: social services, SSS hinted. 

It may be recalled that the Department of Interior and Local Government issued Memorandum Circular No. 2014-83 dated July 18, 2014 ensuring the SSS self-employed coverage of all contractual job order personnel engaged through a contract of service by the local government units who are not covered by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). 

With the DILG MC 2014-83, it has assured the social security protection of these workers, and contractual and job order employees have now the option to apply for coverage to have protection against the dangers of disability, sickness, maternity, old age, death and other contingencies that the SSS offers. 

The MC stressed that the LGUs still have no obligation to pay the employer counterpart of the SS monthly contributions, but it shall ensure that there is automatic deduction of the monthly SSS contributions and salary loan amortizations from the wages of these member workers. 

Part of the LGU tasks is to provide the SSS with a list of its contractual and job order personnel through the Member’s List (ML) form, showing workers full names, SSS number, date of birth, and monthly income and shall report to the SSS on a continuing basis its update ML form. 

In Bohol, five LGUs have enrolled their casual, contractual and Job Order workers under the scheme. These towns include Maribojoc, Calape, Loboc, Ubay and San Miguel. 

LGUs which need to learn more about this service by the SSS can contact SSS Bohol or visit them at the third floor of the Galeria Luisa, Tagbilaran City. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

MAKE A CAMPAIGN PROMISE. SSS Bohol proposes a way for LGU officials to be freed from dipping into their pockets during medical emergencies. Enroll job order workers and casual employees as voluntary SSS members and collect for the SSS the monthly contributions from their payrolls. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)