House panel OKs Velasco bill granting Duterte power to defer SSS rate hike
(FILE) The House committee on government enterprises and privatization on Thursday approved a bill seeking to give President Rodrigo Duterte the power to suspend the hike in the contribution rate of state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS).
MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on government enterprises and privatization on Thursday approved a bill seeking to give President Rodrigo Duterte the power to suspend the hike in the contribution rate of state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS).
The panel approved House Bill No. 8317, which was filed by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco which allows the President of the Philippines, in consultation with the Finance Secretary, to suspend scheduled increases in contribution rates in times of national emergencies.
Apart from Velasco’s bill, the House panel also approved five other measures that propose to stop or defer the increase in SSS contribution rate hike, amending Republic Act No. 11199.
Republic Act (RA) No. 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, allowed the Social Security Commission (SSC) — the SSS’s highest governing body — to jack up contribution rate by 1 percentage point (ppt) every other year starting 2019 until it reaches 15%.
For 2021, the contribution rate is set to increase to 13% from the current 12%.
A technical working group will be created to consolidate the six measures with Velasco’s bill to be the primary substitute bill.
