With funeral costs becoming prohibitive, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an order increasing the funeral benefits of private and public employees.
On July 17, Mr. Duterte signed Executive Order No. 33 raising the funeral benefits under the Employees Compensation Program (ECP) from P20,000 to P30,000.
“The current Employees Compensation (EC) Funeral Benefit for both the private and public sectors is no longer sufficient to cover ordinary funeral costs,” the President said.
“Therefore… the amount of the EC Funeral Benefit is hereby increased from P20,000 to P30,000 effective immediately,” he added.
The ECP is a social insurance program of the government designed to provide private and public sector workers and/or their beneficiaries with benefits in the event of work-related sickness, injury, or death.
“There is a need to continually improve benefits under the ECP to make them more responsive to the welfare and development needs of occupationally disabled workers,” the President said.
He noted that the Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) had issued two resolutions in May and July approving the increase in funeral benefits.
“The ECC has the mandate to upgrade the benefits for permanent disability or death, subject to the approval of the President, provided that the actuarial stability of the State Insurance Fund (SIF) shall be guaranteed and that such increases in benefits shall not require any increase in contributions,” Mr. Duterte said.
The President ordered the ECC, Social Security System (SSS), and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to release the funds needed for the increase that he ordered “from the reserves of the relevant SIF that the SSS and GSIS administer… under the ECP.”
He said results of actuarial studies by the SSS and the GSIS “show that the SIF can finance the increase in funeral benefits without affecting the the stability of the SIF and without requiring additional contributions.” —PHILIP C. TUBEZA