MANILA, Philippines ( APril )—The state-run Social Security Service (SSS) wants the House of Representatives to legislate a law which seeks to implement the mandatory coverage of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW).
Emmanuel Dooc, SSS President and CEO said t is their goal to expand the members of SSS to provide security protection to the country’s hero’s.
“Our objective is not just to strengthen enforcement of compliance for the coverage of employers and employees, but also to encouraged self-employed individuals and voluntary members like OFW to register and be active in the system.
Althea Ori, an OFW who has been working for 20 years in Hongkong welcomes teh announcement “May magamit na kami if may magkasakit sa pamilya at if mag retire, may makuha na kami.
(We have something to spend if ever someone in the family is sick and we can get something when we retire.).
Data from Philippine Statistics Authority shows OFW statistics stood at 2.4 million as of 2016, of this, about only 20 percent are paying members of the SSS or about half a million OFW’s with contributions reaching P4.64 billion.
The SSS data is low compared to the data from the Commission on Filipino Overseas which registered 3.84 million Filipinos working on temporary status abroad.
