SSS releases P869.99 million unemployment benefits in January to September 2021

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The Social Security System (SSS) granted P869.99 million worth of unemployment benefits to 67,937 members for the period of January to September 2021.

“We fully understand the plight of our private-sector workers who have been laid off from their jobs. With this milestone benefit, we remain committed in providing financial aid amid the pandemic. Also, with the inclusion of the unemployment benefit application in the E-Services Tab of the My.SSS portal, involuntary separated members have a more convenient option to submit their application online,” said SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio.


The unemployment benefit is an additional benefit to the SSS-administered programs as mandated under Republic Act No. 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018. This covers employees including Kasambahay and OFW members who were separated from their respective employments.


Members affected by involuntary separation due to installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment or downsizing, business closure or cessation of operation, and disease/illness of the employee whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or his co-employee’s health may apply for this benefit. Economic downturn and natural or human-induced calamities/ disaster such as the Covid-19 pandemic are also considered as involuntary separation.


The age of the member and the number of posted contributions are the key conditions for the grant of unemployment benefit. A member should not be over 60 years old at the time of involuntary separation. As for underground/surface mine workers and racehorse jockeys, they should not be over 50 years old and 55 years old, respectively.


As to the qualifying contributions, a member must have paid at least 36 monthly contributions, 12 months of which should be within the 18-month period immediately preceding the month of involuntary separation.


For instance, a member who has been involuntarily separated from his employment on September 15, 2021 must have at least 12 posted monthly contributions from March 2020 until August 2021 to qualify for the unemployment benefit, provided that he has at least 36 posted monthly contributions or at least three years in total as of September 2021.


To avail of the unemployment benefit, members can log in using their My.SSS account in the SSS website and submit the necessary information such as employment category, date of involuntary separation, the reason for involuntary separation, and the employer’s name where the member was separated. Member likewise will be asked to enroll a valid/active/correct disbursement account to ensure the proper crediting of their benefit proceeds once their claim is approved.

For inquiries and other information on unemployment benefit, please visit the official SSS accounts on Facebook and YouTube at “Philippine Social Security System,” Instagram at “mysssph,” and on Twitter at “PHLSSS,” USSSap Tayo Portal crms@sss.gov.ph and in the SSS Viber Community at “MYSSSPH Updates.”

Unveiling of eight port projects in the provinces of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro

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Mobility and connectivity continue to reach new heights in the maritime sector as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago lead the unveiling of eight port projects in the provinces of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro on 18 November 2021.The improved and expanded seaports include the Port of Abra de Ilog in Occidental Mindoro, while seaports to be inaugurated in Oriental Mindoro are the Port of Calapan, Port of Balatero, Port of Bansud, Port of Bulalacao, Port of Mansalay, and the Port of Roxas.

Highlighting the simultaneous inaugurations is the ongoing expansion of the Port of Calapan’s Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) which can now accommodate 3,500 passengers at any given time. The PPA also completed the port's access road to prevent traffic build-up in the area.

Meanwhile, Puerto Galera’s new gateway port, the Port of Balatero, now offers comfortable passenger travel with an expanded PTB and an extended jetty and back-up area. The port’s PTB can now accommodate 500 passengers at any given time as Puerto Galera reopens to tourists.

The improvement of the Port of Bansud’s RC Platform, RoRo Ramp and RC Pier, meanwhile, will bolster the port’s operational capability.

On the other hand, the Port of Bulalacao can now use its maximum capacity and space with a completed and expanded back-up area.

With the expansion of the Port of Mansalay, the port can now accommodate the demands of shipping trade in the area. The seaport plays a major role in the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) and has been identified as one of the major routes.

Development projects in the Port of Roxas include the expansion of its back-up area, RC platform and RoRo Ramp and the installation of a new Port Lighting System.

Development projects for Occidental Mindoro’s main seaport, the Port of Abra de Ilog, include the construction of its RC pier, RoRo ramp and access trestle and construction of the port’s new operations building.

The simultaneous inaugurations of the seaports pave the way for business and employment opportunities for Filipinos. The upgraded seaports will also improve inter-island travel as well as the movement of essential goods between Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro and neighboring provinces.

The development of the Occidental and Oriental Mindoro ports also round up the 484 seaport projects under the Build, Build, Build Infrastructure program for the country’s economic recovery and growth.

Short PH docu vies in UK, Dreamanila filmfests

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A short documentary highlighting different pandemic response efforts in the Philippines has been selected to compete in the Lift-Off Global Network Sessions this month and the third Dreamanila International Film Festival from November 19 to 21.

“Maria Leonor,” an open letter-type documentary written and directed by Seymour Barros Sanchez and addressed to Vice President Leni Robredo, also attempts to probe into the Filipino voter’s psyche. It is an offshoot of his full-length project “Leading Lady” which is funded by the Centre for Global Business, Monash Business School, Monash University (Australia).

Based at Pinewood Studios, United Kingdom, Lift-Off features a broad range of new and emerging indie content and focuses on “fostering a digital connection with new global audiences, connecting them with a broad range of grassroots indie film talent.” The festival runs from Nov. 15-29 via Vimeo on Demand.

Dreamanila will also be projected online, with selected films to be streamed on its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDreamanilaNetwork) on a one-time schedule only. Founder and Festival Director Archie Del Mundo shared that it is “a film festival that does not just exist to provide screening venues, but also fosters creative and professional support to masters and emerging filmmakers to showcase their films to the world with the purest and most creative visions and intentions.”  

Collaborating with writer-director Sanchez on “Maria Leonor” are camerapersons Ariel Alarcon, Charles Cajayon, and Kristin Joy Bactad Jor, sound recordist Darwin Novicio, music composer Tonton Hernandez (“Tuloy ang Laban”), voiceover narrator Eloisa Espino Sanchez, editor, sound and graphic designer and editor John Lanbert Rafols, and creative consultant Richard Soriano Legaspi.

Dreamanila featured 15 films in competition during its inaugural run at the Dream Theater of the then Carl Balita Productions two year ago. When the pandemic lockdown happened last year, over 30 films in competition were screened online via Facebook Live streaming platform on its social media page (https://www.facebook.com/dreamanila). This year, it will be streamed via The Dreamanila Network.

Award-winning filmmakers Joselito Altarejos, Lemuel Lorca, and film scholars Jerrick David and Robert Cerda comprise the Dreamanila 2021 jury panel and board members. Altajeros stressed that “the heart of the festival continues to beat in order to establish a wider reach in discovering more independent filmmakers with ardency of collective, fundamental, and original visions.”

Only 40 films were selected to participate out of more than 500 submissions. The festival has four major competitions – International Full Feature, International Short Feature, Philippine Shorts, and the Screenwriting Division – with the winners to be announced on November 22.

Awards will be given to the Best Film, Best Performance, Best Director, Grand Jury Award, Special Jury Prize, Best Screenplay, Achievement in Aural and Artistic Design, Social Media Award, and Audience Award.

“Maria Leonor” will precede the screening of the opening film “Time of Unrest” by Francis Luscianne J. Gacer on Nov. 19, Friday, 8:30 p.m.

The short documentary can also be viewed at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Center for Campus Art website (www.benildecampusart.com) starting Nov. 24 as part of the online art exhibition “To Differ Digitally 2: Love and Dissent in the Time of Pandemic” from the CCA headed by Architect Gerry Torres and the DLS-CSB New Media Cluster led by Associate Dean Maria Sharon Mapa Arriola. The teaser-trailer of the documentary project can also be found at the CCA channel: https://youtu.be/MdmNu_Mx_EI

TDD2 features live action films, animation, photographs, 2D and 3D models and rigs, texts, audio, applications, software, graphic design, and illustrations. The show looks at the digital landscape as a platform to communicate constructive protest based on love and empathy. This is the second time in four years the CCA is organizing this kind of exhibit with NMC faculty.

For more information about TDD2, visit CCA’s social media accounts on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BenildeCampusArt), Twitter (https://twitter.com/csbcampusart), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/benilde.campusart/) and YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/BenildeCampusArt).