Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada has filed a bill seeking to condone the penalties for unpaid Social Security System (SSS) contribution of employers of household workers saying it would be a win-win solution for both.

Estrada, in filing Senate Bill No. 43, said the proposed condonation would not only cover the employers of 200,000 domestic workers in the National Capital Region (NCR), but also the estimated 1.4 household employees throughout the country.

“This is a win-win solution. Delinquent household employers will be given a reprieve while the kasambahays can now avail of the benefits from the government-run insurance program which they have been deprived of due to unremitted contributions of their employers,” said Estrada, who is the principal author of the Batas Kasambahay or Republic Act 10361.

“Instead of taking a punitive stance against delinquent employers, there is a need to build a more collaborative partnership with them. Besides, the ultimate goal of Batas Kasambahay is to promote the welfare of our domestic workers and ensure their healthy and productive relationship with their employers,” the senator explained.

Under the bill, Estrada proposed that household employers who have not remitted social contributions to SSS may settle or submit a proposal to pay their unpaid contributions on installment basis within six months following the enactment of the bill.

Should the measure become a law, Estrada, who heads the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, said the prescribed penalty would be imposed if an employer fails to remit contributions within the six-month grace period or if he/she defaults in the payment of any amortization.

He said the prescribed penalty would be imposed from the time the contributions first became due as provided in the SSS Law or Republic Act No. 8282.

Unregistered household employers and those with cases pending before the courts or Office of the Prosecutor involving collection of contributions or penalties are also going to be covered by the measure.

“This will encourage them to comply with the laws and continue paying their contributions for their kasambahays,” Estrada said.

A recent survey conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that only 83 percent of the 1.4 million “kasambahays” still do not enjoy any social security benefit.

The figures are as of October 2019or six years since the enactment of the Kasambahay Law. The SSS also disclosed that the number of household employers registered with SSS stood only at 267,478 as of March 2019.

Last June 22, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in the National Capital Region (NCR) has approved a P1,000 increase in the salary of domestic workers.

This brings the monthly income of “kasambahays” in the NCR to P6,000 a month.