MANILA, Philippines — The national government should not subsidize the one percentage point increase in the monthly contribution of members of the Social Security System (SSS) since there is no provision for it under the 2025 national budget, Baguio City Rep. Mark Go said yesterday.
Go, author of House Resolution 2157 calling for a one-year deferment of the hike in SSS members contribution to 15 percent, rejected the subsidy proposal made by SSS president and CEO Robert de Claro.
“In effect, what the SSS wants is for our call to defer the implementation of the increase in contribution rate to be disregarded if the government will be the one to pay it,” Go, chair of the House committee on higher and technical education, said.
“But what we really want is to defer this incremental increase that became effective Jan. 1, 2025. If the government will be the one to pay, the SSS has not done anything,” he said over Teleradyo Serbisyo. He stressed the 2025 national budget does not include a subsidy for SSS.
“That is the proposal of the SSS. But it is not included in the budget of the national government for 2025. It is not easy to do that, to have a subsidy for 2025,” Go said.
“We will see if it is possible to include it in the next budget cycle. But at the moment, I don’t think it is possible to have this subsidy from the national government,” he added.
Go said his resolution calls for the SSS to do something and that it is not directed at President Marcos.
He said there is no need to give Malacañang another burden because of the SSS.
Go said even former SSS president and CEO Rolando Macasaet had indicated that the SSS should defer the implementation of the increase.
He said the SSS should instead run after the 420,627 delinquent employers who were not paying SSS contribution amounting to a total of P93 billion in 2023.