SSS Sickness Benefit Program covers COVID-infected workers in home confinement

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The Social Security System (SSS) clarified that COVID-infected workers in home confinement are already covered under its Sickness Benefit Program, contrary to recent media reports.

SS explained that members who cannot work due to sickness or injury and are confined either in a hospital or at home for at least four days could avail of the sickness benefit. Aside from employed members, SSS also grants sickness benefit to self-employed, voluntary, and overseas Filipino worker (OFW) members.

The SSS Sickness Benefit Program is a daily cash allowance paid for the number of days a qualified member cannot work due to sickness or injury, including workers infected by COVID-19. Members can avail of up to a maximum of 120 days in sickness benefit in one (1) calendar year.

COVID-infected members in home confinement can qualify under the program if they have paid at least three monthly contributions within the last 12 months before the semester of sickness or injury and are confined either in a hospital or at home for at least four days.

For employed members, they should have used all their current company sick leave with pay and notified their employer about their sickness. On the other hand, self-employed, voluntary, and overseas Filipino worker members and those separated from employment must notify SSS directly by filing a sickness benefit application.

Likewise, COVID-infected members need to present a positive Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test or Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) done in a Department of Health-accredited facility; or RAT result using Food and Drug Administration-approved test kit; or non-FDA-approved RAT result together with a copy of Certificate of Completion of Quarantine issued and signed by a Medical Officer from the local government unit or the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team.

ARTWALK returns for eighth edition, to include Katong-Joo Chiat precinct for the first time

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After seven successful years in Little India, the iconic ARTWALK event will expand beyond its home ground for the first time to include Katong-Joo Chiat.

The eighth edition, which runs from 14 to 22 January, will centre around the theme of Looking Back, Going Forward. Milenko Prvacki, Senior Fellow, LASALLE College of the Arts, said: “ARTWALK has always been about telling the rich stories of Singapore’s heritage, and Katong-Joo Chiat has an amazing treasure trove of new stories which can be told through art. We are very happy with how ARTWALK has enlivened Little India since it started. Bringing the festival to a new precinct is a fantastic opportunity to continue the great work of our artists and the student organisers from LASALLE.”

Ms Lim Shoo Ling, Director, Arts & Cultural Precincts, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “We are pleased to welcome ARTWALK back in 2022, this time with an expanded reach into Katong-Joo Chiat. We hope ARTWALK will continue to excite visitors with its rich stories of Little India, and look forward to visitors exploring Katong-Joo Chiat and experiencing more of its distinct character and heritage, through this year’s line-up of programmes.”

Part of Singapore Art Week, ARTWALK is an annual multidisciplinary public arts project organised by LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB), supported by the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association (LISHA). Through artworks such as wall murals, workshops, music and performances, artists bring to life the history and traditions of Singapore’s cultural precincts through a multisensory art experience.

This year’s festival is presented in a hybrid format, with one of ARTWALK’s most popular events, guided art tours by Monster Day Tours, making a return in-person. There will also be five new murals this year across Little India and Katong-Joo Chiat.

Other highlights include sessions with storyteller Kamini Ramachandran, a long-time ARTWALK favourite, who will bring visitors on a virtual tour of the Indian Heritage Centre and Katong Antique House, two iconic institutions within the cultural precincts.

Katong-Joo Chiat

Visitors to Katong-Joo Chiat can look forward to new murals by Didier ‘Jaba’ Mathieu and Boon ‘Baked’, with their works entitled Jalan Jalan at 357 Joo Chiat Road and The Phoenix at 321 Joo Chiat Road respectively. Jalan Jalan celebrates Katong-Joo Chiat’s heritage through colours inspired by Peranakan ceramics, with brightly coloured cats proudly wandering the precinct. The Phoenix pays homage to the namesake phoenix that is used as an auspicious motif by the Peranakans, and represents the continuance of life in the flames of change brought on by the pandemic.

Budding artists and heritage architecture enthusiasts can also join in Peranakan Shophouse Sketching workshops by Straits Enclave or the Eurasian Craft Workshop and Gallery Tour by the Eurasian Association.

Participants who prefer to tune in from home can look forward to Test Your Tastebuds, a video series which introduces traditional dishes from Peranakan, Eurasian and Indian cuisines. The series follows a pair of strangers connecting over a meal at Rumah Bebe in the Peranakan edition, and a father-daughter duo at Quentin’s in the Eurasian edition.

 

Little India

Adding to the line-up of Little India’s murals this year are artists Shah Rizzal, Lee Wan Xiang and Chand Chandramohan, and Slac Satu. Find Shah’s work, Windows, at 1 Dunlop Street, Wan Xiang and Chand’s work The Sun Beaming at 109 Rowell Road, and Slac’s The Bird of Paradise at 72 Syed Alwi Road.

Pink Gajah Theatre’s documentary series Forgotten Corners will bring audiences on another immersive journey, this time through the eyes of residents in Little India and Katong-Joo Chiat. LASALLE will also present a textile exhibition at the Creative Cube foyer in its McNally campus, showcasing Peranakan, Eurasian and Indian cultures through a range of textiles and artefacts.

Virtual performances include a dynamic exploration of the Tamil folk dance karagattam by Meenalochani from Makoolam Kalaikoodam, which will be available on YouTube and Facebook Live. Audiences at home can also tune in to a lively sound-painting journey by Brahmastra, while those looking to experience ARTWALK in-person can head down to Tekka Place for Iswarya Jayakumar’s Fusion Dance workshop or try their hand at Western Indian Warli Art with Stroke Arts Studio’s Kumuda Krovvidi. In another instalment of Test Your Tastebuds, catch a pair of friends exploring the depths of Indian cuisine together at Podi and Poriyal. ARTWALK rounds off with a shower of tunes courtesy of VarshaSG premiering on YouTube and Facebook on 22 January 2022 at 8.30pm.

Full details of this year’s hybrid programme can be found on the ARTWALK website at artwalklittleindia.sg, which includes digital retrospectives of past editions dating from ARTWALK’s inception in 2015. Audiences can also visit ARTWALK’s official social media platforms on Facebook or Instagram.

On the exemptions under the “No Vaxx, No Ride” policy in public transport in NCR

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Allow us to respectfully clarify matters pertaining to the exemptions provided in the “no vaccination, no ride/entry” policy of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on public transportation, which took effect on Monday, 17 January 2022.

Please note that giving exemption to essential workers is NOT A NEW PROTOCOL enforced after the policy’s pilot implementation. Prior to the full implementation of the “no vax, no ride” policy last Monday, the DOTr has repeatedly emphasized the exemptions through its Department Order (DO) published in newspapers on 12 January and in our Press Releases, media announcements, and press conferences thereafter.

As clearly stated in the DO, those exempted from the “no vaccination, no ride” policy are the following:

• Persons with medical conditions that prevent their full COVID-19 vaccination as shown by a duly-signed medical certificate with the name and contact details of their doctor.

• Persons who will buy essential goods and services, such as but not limited to food, water, medicine, medical devices, public utilities, energy, WORK, and medical and dental necessities, as shown by a duly issued barangay health pass or other proof to justify travel.

These exemptions provided in the DOTr policy are in line with the IATF Guidelines on those who are allowed to work in essential industries under Alert Level 3.

Even before its full implementation, the DOTr has also cascaded this information towards enforcers on the ground. Together with other concerned agencies, such as the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG), and NCR Police Office (NCRPO), the exemptions under the DO are continuously reiterated during their daily formation and deployment.

While the policy will only take effect as Metro Manila is on Alert Level 3 (or higher), we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to the riding public.

This policy is not anti-poor. This was made to protect all – both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated – to safeguard the most vulnerable, unburden our healthcare system, and give our exhausted medical workers some space to breathe. Hence, we dispel various misinformation that has muddled up the message. It is important to note that medical experts have warned that severe COVID-19 infections caused by non-vaccination result in an overwhelming of cases of hospitalization. It creates more inconvenience, and it is even riskier if unvaccinated individuals will contract severe COVID-19 infections or even fatalities, particularly amid the Omicron variant now infecting Filipinos at an alarming rate.

The policy is also in furtherance of our mandate to provide a safe public transport system for the Filipino people. We should consider that if there is a surge of virus transmission in public transportation, we will be forced to shut it down. And the most affected will be those in the lower-income bracket who compose most public transportation users.

Moving forward, rest assured that the DOTr will continue to formulate other ways to convince people to get vaccinated. In the coming weeks, we are poised to revive our vaccination drive for transport workers titled "TsuperHero: Kasangga ng Resbakuna." To recall, this program aimed to inoculate thousands of drivers, conductors of public utility vehicles (PUVs), and other transport workers was launched at the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) on 31 July 2021.

On those who continue to question the legal basis of the "no vax, no ride" policy, it should also be clear that the DOTr is only implementing the ordinances issued by all local government units in Metro Manila, which are all in line with the Metr Manila Council (MMC) Resolution for unvaccinated individuals. The Resolution, which is likewise in line with the Resolution of the IATF, prohibits unvaccinated individuals from boarding public transport. This MMC Resolution was approved and signed by all Metro Manila Mayors and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and is strongly supported by the IATF.

Similarly, the Department of Justice (DOJ) made it clear in its legal opinion that the Resolution from the MMDA and MMC with its corresponding LGU ordinances is a valid exercise of police power under the Local Government Code. Considering that the DOTr's order implements these ordinances, then the same is likewise legally valid.

Lastly, the DOTr echoes the statement of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra—- "The state has the power to regulate the movement of unvaccinated persons if it deems that such regulation is in the interest of public health or public safety.”