SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc clarified that the P6.2 billion released last March for the additional P1,000 benefit of pensioners came from the investment income and present member contributions of the pension fund and not from the subsidy of the national government.
“The news report was misleading. SSS does not receive any subsidy from national government. The P193.86 million fund cited as “subsidy” for the month of January was not used for the benefit increase enjoyed by our qualified pensioners since last month. This amount is the share of national government in the Educational Loan Assistance Program (ELAP) which has been ongoing since 2012,” Dooc sad.
Dooc made the statement after a news report came out citing the P1,000 additional benefit as the reason for the P193.86-million subsidy received by the pension fund in January 2017.
Based on the latest Treasury report, SSS received the second highest subsidy in January 2017 with P193.86 million following the P1.697 billion received by the National Irrigation Administration.
Based on the Educational Assistance Fund Program (EAFP) rolled out in 2012, SSS was allowed to provide educational loan assistance to its members up to P7 billion. Of the P7 billion, P3.5 billion will be financed by the national government as approved by then President Benigno Aquino III and the other half from SSS.
Loan beneficiaries can be SSS members, their legal spouses or children, while unmarried members can have their siblings, including half-brothers or half-sisters as beneficiaries.
As of March 2017, SSS has released about P4.53 billion for the EALP availments benefitting some 81,000 college student-beneficiaries. (Press Release)