SSS offers calamity loans to members hit by Carina

‘LUGAW’ LINE Evacuees form lines for a hot bowl of porridge at Malanday Elementary School in Marikina City on Wednesday, one of the first places to brim with families fleeing to safety as the Marikina River swelled to alarming levels due to rains brought by Typhoon Carina. —Grig C. Montegrande

MANILA, Philippines — Social Security System (SSS) members affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon will be offered loans to aid their recovery, SSS president and chief executive officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Macasaet said that members in typhoon-stricken areas can avail of a loan equal to their one monthly salary, or up to a maximum of P20,000.

READ: Metro Manila now under state of calamity due to Typhoon Carina

“SSS will always be ready to assist our members in typhoon-affected areas. We want to assure them that in times of calamities, they can rely on SSS to provide them the needed financial assistance as they recover from Typhoon Carina,” Macasaet said.

READ: Carina weakens; continues to enhance habagat – Pagasa

The following criterion must be met, however, for SSS members to avail of a loan:

• have at least 36 monthly contributions, six of which must be posted within the last 12 months before the month of filing of application
• be living or residing in the declared calamity area
• be below 65 years old at the time of loan application
• have no final benefit claim such as permanent total disability or retirement
• have no past due SSS Short-Term Member Loans
• have no outstanding restructured loan or calamity loan

Applications can be made through their My.SSS account, which is accessible through the www.sss.gov.ph website.

The loan can be paid in two years or 24 equal monthly installments with an annual interest rate of 10 percent.

“Once approved, the loan proceeds will be credited to the member’s registered Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID)-ATM Card or their active accounts with a Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and Operations Network (PESONet) participating bank,” Macasaet explained.

“We hope that through the calamity loan assistance, we may be able to help typhoon-affected members as they recover from the adverse effects of Typhoon Carina,” he added.

Several roads and communities over Metro Manila and nearby provinces were flooded due to non-stop rains brought by the southwest monsoon, as intensified by Typhoon Carina.

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, over 10,000 families just within the National Capital Region (NCR) have been evacuated due to intense flooding.

Classes at all levels and government work have been suspended in NCR as the region was placed under a state of calamity.

Earlier, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned that flooding and strong rains may still persist, especially over Ilocos Sur, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan, and Pampanga, Abra, Metro Manila, Rizal, and Bulacan, despite Carina weakening.

According to Pagasa, Zambales, La Union, Pangasinan, and Benguet can expect 100 to 200 millimeters (mm) of rain, while for Metro Manila and its nearby provinces, 50mm to 100mm of rain can be felt.