The Social Security System (SSS) lauded the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) for providing a vital safety net to workers, who experienced work-related contingencies in the last five decades as the agency celebrates its golden anniversary.
“The SSS, being a key partner in the administration of the Employees’ Compensation (EC) program, recognizes ECC’s unwavering commitment to providing comprehensive, meaningful, and timely assistance to workers and their families in times of work-related sickness, injury, or death,” SSS president and chief executive officer, Robert Joseph Montes De Claro, said in a statement March 23.
He said that SSS disbursed a total of P39.1 billion in EC benefits to 2.7 million beneficiaries from 1975 to 2024.
These benefits have provided much-needed financial relief to workers who have suffered work-related injuries or illnesses, helping them cover medical expenses, replace lost income, and rehabilitate their lives, De Claro said.
Long-term benefits accounted for around 81 percent of the EC benefit disbursements, or P31.6 billion. These consisted of nearly P27 billion in EC death benefits to almost 42,000 claimants, and EC disability benefits amounting to P5.1 billion, helping over 78,000 workers.
Short-term benefits comprised the remaining 19 percent, at almost 7.5 billion. EC sickness benefits topped the short-term benefits with P5.3 billion, released to nearly two million workers, and medical service benefits amounting to P1.7 billion, benefiting more than 700,000 workers.
Other short-term benefits include EC funeral benefits worth P284 million released to almost 28,000 beneficiaries, and rehabilitation service benefits amounting to over P85 million to help more than 15,000 workers.
De Claro said SSS will continue to work closely with the ECC to ensure that all Filipino workers are protected from the risks of work-related contingencies.
He said that from its humble beginnings in 1975, the ECC has become a vital pillar of social security protection in the country, continuously refining its policies and procedures to ensure that workers receive the support they deserve, especially for work-related contingencies.
ECC’s impact goes beyond the provision of financial assistance to workers and their beneficiaries. The agency has also played a significant role in raising awareness on safety and health in the workplace that benefits all Filipino workers, De Claro added.
The ECC was established on March 17, 1975, after then president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. signed Presidential Decree 626, or the EC and State Insurance Fund (SIF), into law.
The ECC became the lead agency in implementing the EC program, which provides tax-exempt income, medical, and other related benefits to employees – including self-employed – and their dependents in case of work-related sickness, injury, or death.
The SIF, which is sourced from employers’ contributions, is administered by the SSS to private-sector and informal-economy workers. ||
