- CHERYL G. CRUZ
Sixteen noncompliant employers, with total delinquencies of P8.3 million and affecting 299 employees, are being subjected to the two-day Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) operations of the Social Security System Visayas West 1 Division that started June 26.
Dr. Lilani Benedian, vice president for SSS Visayas West 1 Division, said in a media briefing this morning that eight of these noncompliant employers, both small and medium accounts, with total delinquencies of P7.1 million and affecting 208 employees, are to be visited Monday under the SSS Bacolod branch.
The SSS Bacolod East branch, meanwhile, will go after the eight other employers on June 27 in a bid to recover the P1.2-million total delinquency amount that affected the right to benefits of 91 employees.
Atty. Chit Antipatia of the SSS Legal Department said the 16 employers will be issued show-cause orders and/or demand letters, and urged to reconcile records and settle their obligations, either in full or by installment, within 15 days, or until July 11.
Benedian said this will be the third RACE operations for the SSS Bacolod and Bacolod East branches this year.
She said that on March 27, they visited 11 employers and collected P1.3 million out of the P8.6 million total delinquencies; and P703,000 of the P6.5 million obligations of 13 employers on April 28.
Benedian said employers have the option to settle their delinquencies through installments; what is important is that they pay their obligations so that their employees could avail of the many SSS benefits, including sickness, maternity, disability, death, and retirement, as well as loans.
Under Republic Act No. 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, employers are mandated to register and report their businesses to the SSS and all their employees for coverage, regardless of employment status; deduct from their salaries their share in the monthly contribution; pay the share of social security contributions, including Employees’ Compensation; and remit these regularly to the SSS./CGC
