SSS challenged by MSME dues

The Cebu City branch of the Social Security System (SSS) vowed to strengthen its efforts to encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to pay their SSS dues regularly.

Lawyer Alberto Montalbo, officer-in-charge and vice president for SSS Central Visayas, admitted that the agency is having difficulty in collecting SSS contributions from this sector, citing financial instability, slow adoption to technology and lack of personnel.

“We don’t have problems with the big employers. What challenges us is the collection in the SME sector because they need to be reminded of their dues,” said Montalbo.

The Cebu City branch alone has about 18 field officers who go store to store to remind owners of their obligations. Montalbo said there are some cases where owners hand in their contributions to field agents instead of going to the SSS office.

One field officer handles roughly 90 SME accounts.

“Some of our SMEs aren’t that financially strong, the reason they miss remitting their contributions. Some also are not that tech savvy and others lack personnel (like auditors or bookkeepers) who can help them handle financial responsibilities of their business,” Montalbo said.

The SSS chief said the agency has to be patient in dealing with this sector and boost its information awareness campaign, especially on the different benefits SSS can offer to them and the tools they can use, such as going online, to check on their contributions.

SSS said it is targeting more efficient collection methods from contributors and their employers.

It is also calling on Congress to craft a law enabling SSS to penalize firms and employers who do not remit the correct contributions.

“The SS Commission will formulate policies and improve our monitoring systems to ensure that employers, regardless of its size, comply with their SSS obligations. We warn all erring employers to start changing their ways and start doing things right or face legal sanctions,” Social Security Commission (SSC) Chairman Dean Amado Valdez said in a statement.

As of December, SSS has issued demand letters and filed cases against over 34,000 delinquent employers since 2010, bringing in almost P1.4 billion in collections to date.

The efforts of SSS also resulted in 38 employer convictions since 2010, with a corresponding collectible delinquency of P61.66 million.