SSS to provide financial aid to small business owners, employees starting May 1

MANILA - The Social Security System (SSS) on Wednesday announced that the government has approved its small business wage subsidy (SBWS) program to provide aid for small business owners who are not capable of paying the salaries of their employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fernan Nicolas, the spokesperson of the SSS, said in an interview that government has tapped SSS, the Department of Finance, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to implement the SWBS program for small business owners or employers, so their employees can get P5,000 to P8,000 worth of financial aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Nagsisimula po 'yan sa BIR, sa pamamagitan ng pagkuha ng passcode. Pagkatapos po nila pumunta ng BIR, pupunta naman po sila sa SSS upang mag-apply para sa mga empleyado nila. Yun po ang proseso," he told radio DZMM.

According to Nicolas, employers have three ways to apply for the subsidy. One is they can apply through their My.SS account, which is available to all SSS members.

Another method for employers is submission of their E4 forms through a secure link which will be sent in an email by the SSS.

Employers can also fill out application forms for their employers at (HYPERLINK) sbws.sss.gov.ph, the SSS website designated for the applications of the subsidy.

Nicolas clarified that only qualified employers can apply for their workers, especially those who are paying taxes to the BIR before the pandemic.

He said some laborers of small businesses can expect their subsidy starting May 1, 2020.

"First tranche is May 1. May 1 to May 15 po iyan. Second tranche is May 16 to 31," the official said.

According to him, applications for 978,000 small business employees have been submitted to the SSS, as of Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of small business owners and workers lost their income after places throughout the Philippines implemented lockdowns to curb the fast-spreading COVID-19.

State insurance funds like the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Pag-IBIG Fund have released loans and subsidies to help its members make ends meet during the pandemic.