THE Social Security System (SSS) should go after delinquent employers with unsettled contributions first before implementing a members’ contribution hike this year, a political group said on Monday.

The state pension fund should strengthen its collection system and recommend the creation of special courts solely responsible for trying cases against delinquent employers, fast-tracking unpaid contributions, said Teodoro A. Casiño, chairman of political group Bayan Muna.

“It is unconscionable and downright immoral for the Social Security System to collect higher premiums from millions of ordinary employees when it has tens of billions of uncollected remittances from delinquent employers,” he said in a statement.

Republic Act No. 11999 mandated SSS to hike its contribution rate to ensure the pension fund’s sustainability, increasing by increments of 1% every two years. The contribution rate was set at 12% in 2019 and would settle to 15% this year.

For 2025’s contribution rate, employers would shoulder 10% of the fund contribution with the remaining 5% being charged from employees.

“It’s infuriating to think that the SSS has imposed another premium increase this year, while according to the Commission on Audit (CoA), they have yet to collect P89.17 billion from delinquent employers,” said Mr. Teodoro, referring to the findings by state auditors in the pension fund’s 2023 audit report.

There are about 420,600 delinquent employers in 2023, according to the CoA report. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

A RESOLUTION urging the House of Representatives to conduct an investigation for the closure of small-scale rice and corn mills in over a thousand barangays in a span of a decade was filed on Monday.

There is a need to examine the effectiveness of state agriculture programs and interventions for the local rice and corn industries amid the “alarming” closure of the grain mills as cheap imported staple products flood the market, according to House Resolution (HR) No. 2150 filed by Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee.

“This issue needs to be addressed immediately because if it remains unresolved, the number of rice and corn millers shutting down may increase in the coming years, especially if tariffs remain low and the influx of imported products continues in the market,” he said in a statement in Filipino.

Small-scale grain millers throughout 1,040 barangays nationwide have closed since 2013, according to Mr. Lee, citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“It’s concerning that many rice and corn millers in numerous barangays across the country are shutting down because they can’t compete with the influx of cheaper imported products in the market,” he said.

The congressman said the government should look at addressing inflation by providing ample support to the agriculture sector while reducing import dependency. “If they (local producers) continue to be disadvantaged by imported products… affordable food will remain just a pipe dream.”

In June 2024, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. issued Executive Order No. 62, which reduced rice import tariffs to 15% from 35% to address soaring prices of rice products in mid-2024.

Rice imports have reached a record-high 4.6 million metric tons as of Dec. 26, 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Plant and Industry. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

THE Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) for failing to jumpstart its gender equality agenda, raising concerns about its ability to address gender issues and promote workplace inclusivity.

State auditors said the state-run oil company failed to utilize the P182.71 million allotted for its gender and development initiatives in 2023, which is against gender equality regulations for government corporations.

The PNOC did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment, but noted in the audit report that they were unable to formulate a gender equality agenda as “scheduled trainings did not push through” in 2023.

“PNOC has not yet formulated its Gender and Development (GAD) Agenda… thus [it] has no strategic framework and plan for gender mainstreaming and achieving women empowerment and gender equality,” a part of the audit report stated.

“The absence of a GAD Agenda may indicate a gap in PNOC’s compliance with regulatory requirements and mandates concerning gender-responsive planning and programming,” it added.

All government agencies, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) are mandated to craft a GAD Agenda to mainstream the entry of women into the workforce, according to the commission’s gender and development office.

The commission said that PNOC should prepare a 2025 agenda to lay out a plan for achieving gender equality in the workplace; while recommending PNOC officials to participate in gender empowerment training programs.

Meanwhile, state auditors also raised that PNOC failed to follow a joint circular mandating that at least 5% of a GOCC’s budget be allocated and utilized for GAD projects.

“PNOC did not fully utilize the GAD Budget amounting to P182.71 million for the GAD Programs, Activities and Projects (PAPs)… incurring expenditures of only P1.39 million for the entire GAD PAPs or equivalent to only 0.13% of its Corporate Operating Budget (COB),” the report stated.

The state-run oil company had a COB amounting to P1.05 billion in 2023, according to the report. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio