SSS to sell North Harbor lots in Q3

STATE-RUN pension fund Social Security System (SSS) plans to sell a number of small lots at North Harbor in Manila and lease out a property near the bustling gaming hub Entertainment City within the next three months.

SSS president and chief executive Emilio S. De Quiros Jr. told reporters last week that scattered North Harbor lots with areas ranging from 400 to 2,000 square meters would be put on the auction block in the third quarter.

De Quiros said these lots had been acquired by the SSS through dación en pago. Under Philippine laws, dación en pago is defined as “a special mode of payment whereby the debtor offers another thing to the creditor who accepts it as equivalent of payment of an outstanding obligation.”

The SSS chief noted that some of their lots at the North Harbor were disposed of two years ago. “We’ll unload a few more,” he said.

De Quiros added that the SSS was looking at leasing out its HK Sun Plaza property along President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City.

“We know there is good development in that area due to Entertainment City, so land prices are going up. We think the SSS should keep [the property],” De Quiros explained.

The long-term lease agreement to be bid out also by the third quarter will cover between 15 and 25 years, the SSS official said. “We’re in the process of preparing bid documents,” he disclosed.

In a separate statement, De Quiros maintained that the SSS “has no plan to increase the current contribution rate in the immediate future.”

“Although a contribution hike is much needed to improve the actuarial soundness of SSS funds, we would like to assure the public, especially our members that we are not seeking for another increase in their contributions at this time,” De Quiros said.

He said the “currently circulating stories of a planned increase could have stemmed from the results of an SSS study, which looked into the impact of a P2,000 across-the-board pension increase as provided in House Bill No. 5842.”

“The SSS study revealed that adding P2,000 to existing pension payments would require corresponding adjustments in the contribution rate or a government subsidy, otherwise it will shorten the SSS’ fund life by 13 years or until 2029. The SSS fund life today is projected to last for 27 years or until 2042,” he noted. Ben O. de Vera