MANILA — Sen. Imee Marcos expressed concern over the seemingly "double contributions" of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) for their social pension in the Philippines and in South Korea.
This is amid an "Agreement on Social Security Between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of Korea" signed by the two countries in 2019, which is now seeking ratification in the Senate.
"Ito iyong issue ng ating mga OFW. Kasi pag nagta-trabaho sila sa ibang bansa, kinakaltasan iyong sweldo nila para sa pension fund. Iyong parang SSS. Tapos bilang Pilipino, binabawasan din sila ng SSS. So doble doble ang bawas. Parang dati pinag-uusapan natin, iyong tax naaawas ng BIR, naawasan din sa kabila. Ito iyong mga obligatory, mandatory deductions. Siyempre ayaw nila noon. Kaya't ina-align na natin," explained Marcos at the sidelines of a hearing of the Committee on Foreign Relations, which she presided Monday.
Marcos shared the Philippines and South Korea have been in talks since 2005, and despite the 2019 agreement between the two countries, the computation and mechanics of contributions for the social pension remain unclear for OFWs.
"Ngayon nag-meeting na naman kami, tinatanong ko sa mga OFW... Nakita niyo na ba iyong bago? Nakita na raw nila pero parang hindi nila masyadong na-absorb. So kailangan siguro bigyan ng kaunting seminar o magdulot tayo ng kaunting panahon para aralin nang maigi. At bigyan ng concrete, iyong talagang naka-compute na sweldo para makita nila kung alin ang mas okay, alin iyong hindi dahil mahirap din intindihin. Hindi naman tayo insurance expert," she said.
"Para sa akin, para tayong magulong-magulo. Kasi hindi natin pinagkakaisa iyong requirements ng BSP, sa bangko, kasi iba-ibang rate iyan 'di ba. May Korean won, tapos may Philippine peso. Papalit-palit iyong pera. Tapos iyong SSS, BSP, BIR, hindi masyadong nag-uusap. Ganoon din iyong ating issue sa Brunei at pati sa iba pang ASEAN countries. Pinagtatakahan ko din iyong mga bansa kung saan napakaraming Pilipino, wala tayong social pension agreement," she added.
Meanwhile, Voltaire Agas, executive vice president of the SSS-Branch Operations Sector, explained the Philippines-South Korea social security agreement already covers four basic aspects.
"Social security are already covered like the equality of treatment between the citizen of the Philippines, as well as the citizen of the South Korea, who may be treated the same manner as they are working also in the Philippines. And then, of course, it provides for provision on export of benefits, totalization of insurance periods, and mutual administrative assistance," he said.
"Iyong sa equality of treatment, a covered Filipino, including his and her dependents and survivors, shall be eligible for social security benefits under the condition as a Korean national, if they were in South Korea," he added.
Agas said the agreement also comprises a "totalization of insurance periods."
"Pag migrate (South Korea) nila, nahihinto po iyong coverage nila dito (Pilipinas). Pero pag nandoon sila sa South Korea at na-cover sila ng South Korea, mayroon po tinatawag na totalization of contribution of both the jurisdiction in Philippines and South Korea. So that they will be able to avail iyong tinatawag natin na talagang pension," he said.
"Pag hindi po nabuo iyong 120 [months] (minimum contribution in SSS), ang nangyayari po doon sa tao, sasauli lang namin iyong contribution, lifetime pension. Pero kung nakita na mayroon silang contribution sa South Korea, pwede namin idagdag iyon sa Philippine contributions. Tapos iyong Philippines, instead na isauli iyong kanilang mga contribution, bibigyan sila ng proportionate pension. And then sa South Korea rin po, bibigyan sila ng proportionate pension doon sa mga social security na binibigay doon," he added.
More than 60,000 OFWs are eyed to benefit from the agreement.