SSS visits 8 firms in Mandaue that failed to remit contributions

AT LEAST eight companies in Mandaue City have been visited by personnel from the Social Security System in Central Visayas (SSS 7) for their ongoing Run After Contribution Evaders (Race) campaign on Friday, July 22, 2022.Alberto Montalbo, SSS 7 vice president, and lawyer Marie Ann B. Chavez, head of the SSS 7’s legal department, said their visit intends to remind companies to pay their pending SSS contributions on or before the given grace period to avoid legal consequences.Montalbo said companies they visited in Mandaue City comprised construction, metal fabrication, export and transportation companies.Pandemic blamedSome firms cited to have failed to remit their employees’ SSS contributions blamed the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.Montalbo said SSS launched the Pandemic Relief and Restructuring Program (PRRP), which ended in May this year, that provided companies, especially those affected by the pandemic, options to either pay their contributions excluding the penalties or pay in installments.But he said these companies failed to grab the opportunity provided by the program.Those visited were given 15 calendar days starting Saturday, July 23, to settle their disputes, which had no more extensions.Penalty for non-complianceIf they fail to comply within the deadline, a case for violating the Social Security Law will be filed against them, which entails six years of imprisonment and bail of about P36,000, said Chavez.SSS is bound to collect about P2.9 million worth of missed contributions from these companies, which will benefit around 40 to 50 employees.