DOLE to ask Duterte to grant amnesty to employers with payroll errors

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Saturday said it will ask President Rodrigo Duterte to grant amnesty to employers who have discrepancies in the payroll of their employees.

In the Laging Handa online press briefing, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that some companies did not avail their COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (Camp) — or the P5,000 cash assistance program to workers — for fear that the government will discover their violations.

“Nagkaroon ng delay diyan kasi takot ang mga employer na mag-submit ng kanilang payroll and we can understand that,” he said.

(There has been a delay because some employers feared to submit their payroll, and we can understand that.)

“We are explaining to them na kung anuman ang pagkakamali niyo, mga diperensya sa payroll ninyo, ‘wag na kayo matakot,” he added.

(We are explaining to them that whatever they did, the discrepancies in their payrolls, you need not worry.)

“We will recommend to the President amnesty para ‘di na kayo hahabulin [dahil] hindi kayo nag-report sa BIR, sa SSS, sa Philhealth, sa Pag-ibig,” Bello further said.

(We will recommend to the President amnesty so the government will not go after you because you did not report to the BIR, to the SSS, to PhilHealth, to Pag-ibig.)

Earlier, DOLE urged employers to submit their staff’s payroll so their employees could avail of CAMP.

But DOLE has suspended accepting CAMP applications on Wednesday to make way for the Department of Finance’s (DOF) own wage subsidy program.