SSS-BI agreement ensures social security coverage to job order and contract of service worker

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The Social Security System (SSS) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on March 9, 2023 at the BI main office in Intramuros, Manila that will provide social security coverage to job order and contract of service workers in the government.

Photo shows SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet (right) and BI Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco (left) during the ceremonial signing that will benefit at least 800 job order and contract of service workers serving in the immigration regulatory body.

Under the MOA, BI’s job order and contract of service workers will get SSS coverage under the KaSSSama sa Coverage Program. Under the program, these BI workers will be classified as self-employed members of SSS.

The agreement also states that BI will act as a Coverage and Collection Partner of SSS. As such, SSS authorized BI to collect and remit the monthly contributions of these workers through a salary-deduction scheme.

“The SSS aims to secure the future of all job order and contract of service workers in government agencies nationwide. Although these employees work in government offices, they are considered private self-employed members and are not covered by the Government Service Insurance System,” Macasaet said.

He explained that as self-employed SSS members, they will be entitled to receive social security benefits such as sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral and death benefits. They will also get additional coverage from the Employees' Compensation Program (ECP) for work-related contingencies. Moreover, they may apply for various member loans offered by SSS such as salary and calamity loans.

Commissioner Tansingco thanked SSS for bringing social security benefits to their job order and contract of service workers which they can rely on during times of contingencies.

Meanwhile, Macasaet visited the KaSSSama sa Coverage Program servicing counter set up for the occasion in the BI head office in Intramuros, Manila. SSS personnel from SSS Manila Branch manned the online and onsite servicing counter to assist BI workers in creating online account with SSS through the My.SSS facility, registration with SSS as self-employed members, generating Payment Reference Number for contribution payment, verification of member's records, and answering inquiries on various SSS benefits and loan programs.

As of December 2022, SSS has partnered with 1,531 local government units (LGUs), 499 national government agencies, 111 state universities and colleges (SUCs), and 68 local water districts covering job order and contract of service workers through the KaSSSama sa Coverage Program with a total collection exceeding P5.5 billion.

Official Statement by DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte on ACT Teachers Partylist

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The Department of Education is not blind to the problems besetting the education system.

We have already laid down solutions to these problems during the Basic Education Report delivered on January 30, 2023.

The hiring of teachers, the hiring of administrative staff, as well as the construction of new classrooms and school buildings are among the solutions identified and being pursued now.

And while these are pursued along with the implementation of other essential reforms, DepEd should not only be limited to dispensing old-fashioned solutions but must also innovate.

The Department will not surrender or fall for the mad ruse of a partylist group that has mastered the art of duplicity.

May I reiterate that ACT Teachers’ suggestions were both unrealistic and impossible — presented to shame the government and deceive the public into believing that the hiring of teachers and increasing the education budget were their ideas.

On this note, may I underscore the urgency and necessity of exposing ACT Teachers as a fake representative of learners and teachers in Congress.

If ACT Teachers stands for the education sector, it would not have ignored the NPA terrorism in Masbate that resulted in the suspension of classes in six towns of the province, affecting more than 55,000 learners and 2,815 personnel — which they claim to represent.

ACT Teachers would have publicly and strongly condemned this act of NPA terrorism, given its blistering impact on the efforts of DepEd and our partners to remedy the education problems.

But the group has masterfully redirected the public's attention from Masbate to its outrageous suggestions for DepEd.

Part of its deceptive tactic when stripped down of its intentions — with its real political agenda exposed to the public — is to conveniently hide under the blanket of red-tagging.

We should only take ACT Teachers seriously if it publicly condemns NPA atrocities in Masbate and all other NPA terroristic activities that hampered the learning of children across the country

ACT Teachers should stop dropping the victim card around the table whenever they are exposed as sympathizers and supporters of the NPA, the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

The real victims here are the learners, and the Department of Education is pouring in all our efforts to solve the problem.



Thank you.





Sara Z. Duterte

Vice President of the Philippines

Secretary of the Department of Education

Ten women waste workers receive grants on International Women’s Month

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Women waste workers formally accept their new equipment and financial grants to boost their businesses.

Ten women waste workers from the Cities of Pasig, Quezon and Manila celebrated International Women’s Month with new equipment and financial grants to enhance their waste management businesses.

WWF-Philippines hosted a turnover ceremony at the University of the Philippines Bahay ng Alumni in Diliman, Quezon City on March 8, Wednesday, which was also International Women’s Day. The women grantees received their new equipment – side cars, cleaning tools, and safety gear – and signed an agreement, accepting their grants.

One of the grantees was 46-year-old Rosabelle Obusan from Pasig City. Rosabelle has been collecting and selling garbage since she was young. She had always dreamed of having her own junk shop, but lacked the seed money to do so.

“Kaya ngayon makakakuha na ako ng business permit, tsaka mayor’s permit, kaya matutuloy ko na ‘yung pangarap ko. Ito na nga ‘yung hinihintay ko na ang tagal na pagkakataon. Mauumpisahan ko na,” Rosabelle says.

[Translation: Now I can finally get a business permit and a mayor’s permit to fulfill my dream. I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I can finally start my business.]

Rosabelle Obusan receives a side car full of cleaning tools and safety gear as well as new signs for the junk shop she plans to open.

The other grantees were May Mabunga, Marissa Gorpido, Michelle Glor, Marife Cabe, Joan Diaz, Rose Anne Salinas, Analyn Gerong, Kuh Restubog, and Margarita Bartolo.

The equipment and grants are part of the Women in Waste Economic Empowerment (WWEE) program of the Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) initiative under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This is in partnership with WWF-Philippines and the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc. (CCFPI) as well as the Associated Resources for Management and Development, Inc. (ARMDEV) and the EcoWaste Coalition’s Basic Business Empowerment Skills Training (BBEST) that is also funded by CCBO.

“Nakakabilib na ang mga kababaihan ang kasama natin sa pag-ambag sa kalinisan ng ating komunidad. Isang pribilehiyo po para sa amin na makatulong sa inyo at sa inyong pamilya para sa ating misyon na isang mundong maayos at walang nasasayang,” said Cecile Alcantara — Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines President — addressing the women waste workers.

[Translation: It is impressive that women are part of our work to clean communities. It is our privilege to assist you and your families in our mission to achieve a world without waste.]

Prior to receiving the grants, the women underwent empowerment training under BBEST and participated in a mentorship and pitching session to a panel. The grantees were selected based on the clarity, impact, and feasibility of their business idea, and the drive of the women to implement the business model.

Apart from the formal turnover, one of the highlights of the event was a sharing or chikahan session among the new grantees, with some new BBEST training graduates and other women waste workers who had received their grants a few months earlier. The women entrepreneurs shared their experiences, answered questions from the group and also offered inspiring messages to motivate the new graduates to continue pursuing their ambitions for their businesses despite the challenges.

Previous grrantees share their story of how they trained to be entrepreneurs under the WWEE project and what life has been like since receiving their grants.

Analiza Maglasang, 48, was one of the grantees from November who shared her story. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Analiza had to shut down her junk shop and put her plans on hold. When she attended the BBEST training last year, she found the confidence from learning new skills to restart her business.

“Ang isang natutunan ko, mangarap lang ulit,” she says. “Kasi sabi ko pwede kahit hindi na ako maghanapbuhay. Antayin ko na lang sahod ng asawa ko…Nang naka-attend ako nang seminar parang naliwanagan ako ulit.”

[Translation: One of the lessons I learned is to dream again. Because I used to think that I didn’t need to work anymore. I’ll just wait for my husband’s salary…When I attended the seminar I was enlightened.]

May Mabunga, 29, from Pasig City is a door-to-door waste collector and one of the new grantees who also spoke during the session. She shared how she overcame her shyness and learned to be more outspoken during her empowerment training.

“Kahit hindi ka marunong magsulat, magbasa…’Yung hindi marunong magbasa mapaghihinaan kayo ng loob. Kasi ako mahina talaga ‘yung loob ko. Katulad ngayon, mahina ang loob ko, pero nasaan ngayon ako?”

[Translation: Even if you don’t know how to write or read…When you don’t know how to read, you often feel weak-hearted. I also often feel weak-hearted until now, but look how far I’ve come?]

A recent WWF study found that women bear a disproportionate burden when it comes to managing plastic use and waste when compared to men. WWF-Philippines is pushing for gender-inclusive solid waste management systems in homes and communities.

The WWEE partnership is in line with WWF-Philippines’ advocacy to empower women in the waste management sector under its No Plastics in Nature (NPIN) initiative that seeks to stop the flow of plastic waste in nature by 2030.

"WWF believes in empowering the waste sector as we see it important in the plastic value chain. Our studies showed that the informal waste sector mainly contributes to the estimated 9% plastic recycling rate of the country but is not provided with the support they need. Through WWEE, together with our partners, we recognize their contribution and work on supporting them in making their dream businesses a reality,” says Czarina Constantino - Panopio NPIN Program Manager.