MANILA, Philippines — The Social Security System (SSS) has only collected 4.89 percent, or P4.581 billion, of the P93.747 billion total established collectibles from delinquent employers in 2023, a Commission on Audit (COA) report showed.
In its 2023 audit report released last month, the COA flagged SSS for its uncollected contributions from 420,767 delinquent regular/business employers (ERs) and household employers (HRs) worth P89.166 billion.
READ: COA: SSS failed to collect P92B in 2022
COA said “the inefficiency in collecting premium contributions from delinquent employers,” despite “the offering of [an] installment payment scheme, deprives the SSS of much-needed funds for the timely delivery of social security protection, claims, and benefits to its members and their beneficiaries.”
Of the 420,267 delinquent employers, the COA report revealed that 349,189 active ERs did not avail of the SSS’ installment plan for their delinquent accounts totaling P63.296 billion, representing 70.98 percent as of the end of 2023.
“Notably, only 103 active ERs with delinquent accounts totaling P95.308 million, a mere 0.11 percent of the net collectibles, applied for or have availed of the IP,” the audit report showed.
“The remaining 70,975 ERs, classified as either inactive, under temporary suspension, or with closed/dormant accounts, [represent] P25.774 billion, or 28.91 percent of the net collectibles,” it added.
According to COA, this may “indicate leniency in the collection efforts of the concerned branch/division/group/department of the SSS.”
In line with this, the SSS said that its Accounts Management Group (AMG)-Large Accounts Division (LAD) will “continue to monitor and review the status of delinquent accounts, intensify collection efforts, and market the continuing contribution penalty condonation, delinquency management, and restructuring program (CPCoDe MRP) for business employers and [the] Contribution Penalty Condonation and Restructuring Program (CPCR-P) for household employers.”