12 October 2013

Unjustifiable Bonuses of SSS Commisioners (Last Part)

SSS Press Conference
There are several questions that we were trying to answer yesterday regarding the bonuses accorded to several senior Social Security System (SSS) officials, but failed to find a justifiable good answer. We will try to do that again in this post.

Susie Bugante, SSS vice president for public affairs, keep on mentioning Executive Order No. 24 signed by President Benigno Aquino III to defend the large bonuses amounting to about PhP 10 million for Chairman Juan B. Santos, Chairman; SSS President and SSC vice chairman Emilio S. De Quiros, Jr.; Diana V. Pardo-Aguilar; Daniel L. Edralin; Eliza R. Antonino; Marianita O. Mendoza; Ibarra A. Malonzo, and Bienvenido E. Laguesma.

>However, Section 3 Principle B of the said Order states that the compensation shall have the following characteristics:
  1. Just and equitable in accordance with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value;
  2. Generally comparable with those in the private sector doing comparable work in order to attract, retain and motivate a corps of competent members of the Board of Directors/Trustees;
  3. Performance-based with due consideration to individual and organizational performance in terms of financial, operational, developmental and regulatory reforms, where applicable;
  4. Fair, reasonable and in consideration of fiscal realities such as the availability of funds and the financial capability of the organization; and
  5. Subject to the approval of the President.
The allowances provided by SSS to its commissioners are far from just and equitable. They meet twice a month at most, while the rank and file employees work five days a week and eight (8) hours a day and yet receive only 2.5 percent of their month salary maximum as incentive. This is a far cry from the PhP 1 million that each SSS commissioner received.

A private sector company engaged in lending and pawning business nationwide provide PhP 10,000 to each of its board member as allowance. They meet only once every quarter. Their company who had been in business for 10 years now posted an annual growth of 15 percent on average. Did the SSS commissioners ever considered using this as an example for ‘comparable allowance’ or did they chose a multinational company that allots PhP 100,000 for each board member every time they meet because it suits their hunger for money?

Financially and operationally, SSS daily transaction and customer service are something that badly needs an overhaul. The company has an unfunded liability of about PhP 1.07 Trillion! It takes years for retired members to claim their benefits! There is always a long queue whenever active members try process their papers and it takes them hours to finish a simple updating of membership contribution! So performance cannot be use to justify the bonuses. Definitely not from this member.

The PhP 1 million in bonuses is not fair and reasonable considering the fiscal reality that SSS has (again) an unfunded liability of PhP 1.07 Trillion. The only way for the commissioner to get a bonus is if they can get rid of this foreseeable debt. No more and no less.