PR - Workers dub SSS bonus and per diem “Million Peso Pork”

PRESS RELEASE

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)

October 8, 2013

Workers dub SSS bonus and per diem “Million Peso Pork”

Militant labor under Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), accompanied by labor-led political party Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) slammed current commissioners of the Social Security System (SSS) board for the P10 million bonus issued to them last year, and in addition, the P276 million bonus to its employees.

In a picket before the SSS main office in Quezon City today, the workers named the more than P40,000 per diem of the directors as “Million Peso Pork” comparative to the current pork barrel controversy.

“This is a disgrace to the Filipino workers whose only hope for retirement relief is the miniscule benefit from SSS, the premium of which increased by 0.6 per cent just last month,” said BMP national president Leody de Guzman.

“With the huge per diem of our board of directors, we, as SSS members, seem to have been forced to feed these pigs with our lowly salaries,” he added.

BMP’s action came after news reports bared the multimillion bonuses, which amounted to more than P1 million per commissioner. De Guzman also cited the 2012 Commission on Audit (COA) Report on Salaries and Allowances, wherein SSS president and chief executive officer was reported to have received P4.35 million in salaries and allowances last year.

With the slogan “Million-Peso Kickback sa SSS, Ibalik sa mga manggagawa!” BMP called for the accountability of SSS board members, urging them to return the P10 million to the SSS fund and increase the benefits of members.

The groups also reminded SSS that the refund of the P788 million overcharged interest as reflected in the 2011 COA report has not taken place.

It can be remembered that COA chided SSS for using a wrong computation of loan interest based on the principal loan amount instead of diminishing monthly loan balance, as prescribed by the Central bank. COA recommended SSS to stop the use of said computation, which SSS admittedly has been practicing in 2001, and refund the overcharged amount to its members.

After the picket, members of both organizations ate tuyo (dried fish) for lunch, signifying the worsening poverty amongst Filipino workers while their supposed servants, as represented by the SSS board, are wallowing on huge perks.