SSS cuts down interest rates for loan programs
by; Juju S. Manubag-Empuerto
CEBU CITY, August 12 (PIA) --- The Social Security System (SSS) has cut down its interest rates to enable companies to avail of its social and business loans. This is disclosed by SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio S. de Quiros during his visit to Cebu yesterday.
“Depending on the loan terms, the maximum interest rates for companies now range from 7.5 percent to 11.25 percent which previously were fixed interest rates of 10.5 to 13.5 percent prior to the implementation of the new guidelines a month ago. This is three percent points lower than the previous fixed interest rates,” De Quiros told members of the media during the Kapihan sa SSS.
“For loans of a one-year term and below, the interest rate has gone down from 10.5 percent to seven percent while for loans with a five year to 15-year term, the interest rate is now at 11.25 percent from 13.5 percent before,” de Quiros added.
According to de Quiros, it has revised its loan guidelines to give companies easier access to credit, boost employment and expand SSS membership.
The SSS business loans included industry loan program with a maximum loan amount of P500M; special financing program with a maximum loan amount of P50M and financing Program for tourism projects with a maximum amount of P150M.
SSS also offers Social Loans under the Financing Program for hospitals, schools, including vocational and technical educational institutions with loan amounts of up to P350M, this is said.
“The revised guidelines allow monthly adjustments of interest rates based on the prevailing market price. Our lending programs now offers the lower rates since the launch of our first corporate loan facility in 1988,” de Quiros said.
De Quiros also pronounced that the new guidelines allow the employers to acquire existing structures, expand and diversify business and fund projects on forest development and sustainable energy.
Other eligible borrowers include start-up or existing enterprises that are engaged in agri-business, food processing, manufacturing, services, commercial production, real estate development, utilities, transportation and communication, this is learned.
And to support the economy locally, the loan programs are also opened for extractive industry such as mining, dredging, oil and gas exploitation, provided they have already an Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned agencies, de Quiros said.
De Quiros expressed optimism that with the lower interest rates and relaxed lending requirements, the guidelines have torn down barriers that hamper corporate access to SSS loan programs. (FCR/JSME/PIA-Cebu)
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SSS collections reach over P8B in Visayas & Mindanao for 1st sem 2011
By Juju Manubag-Empuerto
CEBU CITY, August 12 (PIA) --- Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio S. de Quiros reported during this morning’s Kapihan sa SSS in Cebu that they were able to collect P8.24B contributions from its members in the Visayas and Mindanao for the first six months of this year alone.
“The total collections for the first semester this year has increased by 11 percent compared to the same period last year where SSS only collected P7.41B,” according to de Quiros.
De Quiros added that loan payments also went up by 23 percent to P1.63B following an amnesty program that ended last June.
“The P1.63B salary loan collections were bolstered by the P117.87M payment of almost 3,000 employers who availed of the Six-Month Loan Penalty Condonation Program that ended on June 30, this year,” De Quiros disclosed.
A total of 25,890 employees from Visayas and Mindanao settled their combined loan delinquency of P293.57M under the amnesty program where about 60 percent paid in installments and 10,303 paid in full.
There are five SSS hub offices in the Visayas and Mindanao. In Central Visayas, the hub office is in Cebu City, for the Western Visayas region, the hub office is in Bacolod while for Northern Mindanao, the hub office is in Cagayan de Oro City while the for the Southern and Western Mindanao, the hub offices are located in Davao City and Zamboanga City, this is said.
“All these 5 hub offices have outpaced the half year salary loan collections last year. Four of the branches have posted a double-digit growth in collections of up to 30 percent this year compared with the first six months in 2010.” De Quiros reported.
De Quiros also disclosed that for the 1st semester of this year, Visayas and Mindanao have 140,000 new members of which 105,000 are employees. The number is 15 percent higher than the 121,977 members for the same period in 2010.
In Central Visayas alone, SSS covers nearly 2M members, this is learned.
The pension fund of Visayas and Mindanao has over 240T registered employers and 8.6M members.
The 8.1M members comprise 5.5M employees that composed 64 percent of the total and the 3.1M are self-employed and voluntary members. (FCR/JSME/PIA-Cebu)
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POPCOM-7 starts education drive on RH Bill in C. Visayas
By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, August 11 (PIA) -- The top official of the Population Commission (PopCom) here has started holding education forums on the highly-debated Reproductive Health (RH) Bill which is being endorsed by the government to promote maternal and child welfare and decrease the high incidence of maternal mortality rate.
PopCom -7 Regional Director Atty. Bruce Ragas said it is high time for people to be educated on the controversial issue so that they could decide for themselves to express for or against it.
“We have started our information drive in schools and even briefed some religious groups. In fact, some Catholics who expressed support for the bill formed a group called Catholics for RH because they believe that the provisions of the bill will be more beneficial to the people,” Ragas declared.
Ragas also claimed that all population officers in the region were directed to conduct advocacy drive on the RH Bill especially to lawmakers in their areas to provide accurate information so there could be an objective discussion about it.
One of the reasons why the government is supporting the RH Bill is the Philippines commitment to the Mid Development Goals set by the United Nations of which part is to decrease maternal mortality rate which is one of the highest in Asia.
Ragas said the country’s maternal mortality rate (MMR) is 60-70 deaths per 100,000 live births while the MDG target is to lower MMR down to 45 per 100,000 live births y 2015.
“The only way for the government to attain its objective to decrease maternal mortality rate is to have a unified national policy in the delivery of RH services,” according to Ragas.
Lawmakers are still debating in Congress over the bill now on its second reading as hopes are expressed that final deliberation would be over before the year ends.
Ragas on the other hand, expressed optimism that the bill would be deliberated before December for elevation to the third reading. “But in case, I hope not, that it would not be deliberated before December, we will still continue with our education drive about the bill for future purposes,” Ragas said.
In Cebu, out of the nine congressmen, only Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña has been vocal about his support for the RH Bill.
Ragas admitted it is a toll order to rally lawmakers and local officials to support the bill especially as politicians are cautious in showing support for the bill less they will lose votes in the coming elections.
The Church has strongly opposed the bill and has included it in its ‘Oracion Emperata’ after every mass as part of their campaign against the bill to which Ragas also respected the church’s actions.
Meanwhile, Ragas brushed aside notions that the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill is meant to curb population growth as he said “population management is not the central issue of the bill even if our country’s population growth rate is quite high.” (PIA 7-Cebu)
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DOH campaigns for 3-5-year birth spacing
as PHL celebrates Nat’l Family Planning Month
By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY (August 11) – Filipino couples are urged to adopt birth spacing for three to five years to provide the needed emotional and physical support during their child’s critical first years of life. The call is made by the Department of Health (DOH) as the country celebrates August as National Family Planning Month.
Under the theme ‘3-5 Taong Agwat, Dapat!,” the campaign is aimed at encouraging Filipino men and women to space births for three to five years as part of the DOH family planning communication campaign.
The DOH sated that health spacing of pregnancies gives the couple the time to be there for their child’s crucial first years of life. They are the foundation that shapes children’s future health, happiness, growth, development and learning achievement at school, family and community, this is said.
Also, the fundamental years in a child’s life where parents are encouraged to spend as much time as possible to nurture their children can result to a development of trust and security that turns into confidence when they grow up, the DOH said.
The DOH also advised women that after giving birth, new mothers also need time to recover and gain back their strength to tackle parenthood and the next pregnancy.
In Cebu, the DOH-7 called on local government units, its attached agencies and other line agencies to conduct their own local awareness campaign this August for the Family Planning Month celebration to inform the public and stakeholders about the key message of 3-5-year birth spacing, encourage couples who practice birth spacing to share their own experiences and generate commitment from local leaders to support the family planning communication campaign. (PIA 7-Cebu)