POEA support OFW bid to delay SSS fee rule

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is now pushing to defer the implementation of a new rule, which, if applied, would make it mandatory for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to remit premium payment to the Social Security System (SSS) prior to the issuance of their overseas employment certificates (OEC).

The POEA submitted a recommendation to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to suspend the said rule stipulated in Rule 14, Section 7 of the implementing  rules and  regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 11199, or the Social Security Act.

POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said the deferment of the rule, together with Rule 15 of the IRR containing the provision of date of effectivity of SSS coverage, stays until the completion of further review by the Joint Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), DOLE and SSS.

He said POEA made the decision based on the unanimous opposition by the recruitment sector and OFW, and migrant advocates against the said policy during sectoral consultation.

“The bone of contention is the incoherence of the provision of Section 9-B of the law and Rule 14, Section 7 of the IRR,” Olalia said in his memorandum to Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III submitted last June 27.

He noted the participants of their dialogue agreed the said rule “should be determined by a joint committee of the DFA, DOLE and SSS and not solely by the SSS.”

They also concluded the “tying-up” of payment of SSS contribution to OEC issuance is an ultra vires act since it is not stipulated in the provision of RA 11199.

An OEC is a requirement issued by POEA for aspiring OFWs before they could work abroad.

Olalia also said it is not the mandate of POEA to collect SSS premium and that contributions from OFWs should only be collected after their deployment abroad.

To recall, these same issues were raised by concerned stakeholders during the stakeholder consultations. However, the said concerns were not addressed in the published IRR of RA 11199.

The Blas Ople Policy Center (BOPC), one of the migrant advocacy groups opposing the linking of OEC and SSS premiums, lauded POEA’s stand against the rule.

“I hope DOLE will uphold this stand which is backed by the OFW sector,” BOPC head Susan Ople said in her Twitter post.