SSS raises P1.3B via restructuring scheme

Social Security System (SSS) gained P1.31 billion during the first three months of its Loan Restructuring Program, already breaching the target and helping shore up the state-run pension fund’s revenue as it struggles to finance the pension hike approved by President Duterte.

In a statement, president and chief executive Emmanuel F. Dooc said that from April to June, SSS condoned over P3.35 billion in unpaid loans from 200,960 members.

“When we launched the second Loan Restructuring Program in April, we expected to attract 250,000 availees but to our surprise, we’ve already breached the 200,000-mark in just three months of implementation, and we still have nearly three months to accept more applications,” Dooc said.

In March, Dooc said the SSS expected to generate P1.2 billion from about 250,000 member-borrowers from April 2 to Oct. 1.

“The Loan Restructuring Program is serving its purpose of providing immense financial relief to our members by giving them the opportunity to clean up their loan records. So I’m encouraging all member-borrowers with past-due short-term loans to avail of the program on or before Oct. 1,” he said.

The second round of loan structuring was a follow through to the first one offered from April 2016 to April 2017.

From the first round, SSS collected about P6 billion from over 800,000 members.

Under the program, members can “settle their overdue loan principal and interest in full or by installment under a restructured term depending on their capacity,” SSS said.

“For both schemes, the SSS shall waive all the loan penalties after the member has completed paying the restructured loan,” it said.

“The program covers all member-borrowers who have past due loans like the salary loan, emergency loan, (old) educational loan, study now pay later plan, voc-tech loans, Y2K loans, and investments incentive loan,” according to SSS.

Loans that were past due for at least six months as of April 2 are qualified under the program. —BEN DE VERA