Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Friday denounced as immoral the request of Social Security System officials for a P1-million performance bonus following a P35-billion investment income, stressing they should first support the proposal for a P2,000 across-the-board increase in pensions.
Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, called on the Aquino administration through the Governance Commission for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations to deny the insensitive request of SSS officials who prioritize their personal interests over SSS pensioners.
“The timing is very questionable. The request is very selfish and leaves bad taste. No SSS officials deserve a bonus. They are there to serve and protect the pensioners and not to reward themselves with heavy perks,” Romualdez said.
“Requesting a performance bonus is insensitive to the plight of the pensioners who are at the twilight of their lives,” Romualdez pointed out.
“I hope these officials change their style because their insensitivity is becoming a major stumbling block for them to make good decisions,” Romualdez added.
The lawmaker from Leyte insisted on the need to implement the P2,000-increase in the monthly pension of state-fund pensioners after SSS president and chief executive officer Emilio de Quiros Jr. claimed in a report that the agency has recorded good performance indicators in terms of collection efficiency and investments.
“Their admission of an increased income that triggered their request for performance bonuses is the best reason to push the proposal to hike SSS pensioners,” Romualdez said.
De Quiros had earlier said the SSS officials deserved to get their performance bonuses due to “high collection efficiency” of the state pension agency.
“We are doing P35 billion in terms of investment income. Our collections increased by 10 percent. Because of the high collection efficiency of SSS, benefits also jumped 10 percent,” de Quiros said.