Members and pensioners in the Bicol region who lost livelihood when Typhoon Tisoy struck last December may also apply for calamity loans from the Social Security System (SSS).
In a statement on Thursday (Jan. 9), SSS president and chief executive Aurora C. Ignacio said house repair and improvement loans are also available for members in the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon and the city of Naga.
Pensioners may also file for a three-month advance in their pensions until March 19, 2020, Ignacio said.
Ignacio said SSS members in Bicol areas where a state of calamity had been declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council are invited to avail themselves of the calamity loans which “specifically cater” to them.
“I know that most of our members and pensioners in Bicol have been waiting for this good news,” Ignacio said.
The NDRRMC had declared a state of calamity in Batangas City; Mabitac, Laguna; Corcuera and San Fernando, Romblon and the provinces of Cavite, Marinduque, Northern Samar, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro and Quezon.
The SSS started offering calamity assistance package to members in these areas since last December.
The SSS had said a total of P614.5 million had been set aside—P601.6 million for members on top of P12.9 million for pensioners—for Tisoy survivors.
Citing NDRRMC report, Ignacio said Tisoy damaged 346,000 houses. She said direct house repair and improvement loans, available until Dec. 19, 2020, “will greatly help our members in rebuilding their damaged properties.”