CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—Social Security System Administrator Romulo Neri said Thursday the fund agency would no longer be able to grant loans to workers laid off due to the global financial crisis.

Neri made the disclosure during a meeting of the Northern Mindanao regional development council here.

During the meeting, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines regional head Rex Borja asked Neri if it was possible for the SSS to approve loans for workers who had been retrenched by their companies.

Neri responded: “SSS can no longer grant its members separation loans because that will already be against the law.”

“We have already exceeded the 10-percent ceiling that is allowed by law,” he explained.

Neri also went on to say the pension fund for private workers was having a hard time collecting dues from over five million members, whose arrears have amounted to more than P25 billion.

“This is over and above the penalties,” he said.

But Neri, Malacañang’s point man in Mindanao for the government’s stimulus package, said the government will strive hard to keep people from losing their jobs.

He said job opportunities would be made available through the government’s Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP). Ma. Cecilia Rodriguez, Inquirer Mindanao