SSS offers emergency loans to Mayon victims

MANILA, Philippines — Active members and pensioners of the Social Security System (SSS) residing in areas affected by the eruption of Mayon Volcano can avail of emergency loans from the state fund until May 15, an SSS official said over the weekend.

In a statement, SSS president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Dooc said the state fund has earmarked more than P193 million for the Calamity Loan Assistance Program (CLAP) to be extended in areas that are under state of calamity due to the volcanic eruption.

Dooc said there are 19,354 potential borrowers in the area who could benefit from the program.

They may receive up to P16,000 in loans payable in two years, he said.

“SSS members and pensioners can avail of a maximum  of P16,000 calamity loan, payable in two years. To further help them recover from this unfortunate situation, monthly amortization will only start after three months from the time that they received the loan,” Dooc said.

“We also waived the one percent service fee as special consideration to our member-applicants,” he added.

The CLAP is a separate loan window from the regular salary loan. The loanable amount is payable within two years in equal monthly installments with an annual interest rate of 10 percent and monthly penalty of one percent for late payments.