CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – At least 1,335 employees from 110 business establishments in the Northern Mindanao region are in danger of not availing any benefits from the Social Security System owing to their employers’ non-compliance to their obligation, notably the monthly contributions. Alarmed by the employers’ delinquency and its effect on the workers, the SSS Mindanao North Division conducted simultaneous action against delinquent employers through its Run After Contributions Evaders (RACE) campaigns on Friday, April 28, to remind the employers of their legal obligations. Under Republic Act No. 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, private sector employers are legally obliged to let their employees avail of the protection and benefits of the SSS, which can only be availed of if the employers have properly registered their business, disclosed their number of employees, and dutifully remitted contributions. "Otherwise, we will be compelled to use a coercive approach by filing legal cases against them," said lawyer Edwin Alo, SSS Senior Vice President for Mindanao Operations Group and concurrent acting head of Mindanao North Division, in a statement released on Friday, April 28. "Maglisod og claim ang usa ka miyembro o empleyado kung wala na ang contribution (An employee will have a hard time claiming (their benefits) if there is no contribution),” said Febes Malicse, Corporate Executive Officer III of SSS Cagayan de Oro-Lapasan Branch, in a press conference in this city on Friday. But Malicse clarified that SSS can collect the contribution from the employers by providing a statement of account and billing letter through the visitation of the account officers from SSS. These 110 business establishments in the region have been tagged as “non-compliant” due to non-remittance of SSS contributions, non-registration of employer accounts, and failure to report the number of employees. These establishments have a total record delinquency of P20.4 million, including penalties. After the first part of the press conference on Friday, SSS officials here proceeded to their visitation of the 10 non-compliant business establishments in this city to issue show cause orders, directing employers to settle their obligations to the SSS. When asked about the employers’ reasons, SSS Cagayan de Oro-Lapasan branch head Valentine Aunzo said there were still employers that said they have not fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic despite the agency’s relief programs. "Usually, there were financial losses, and there were also employers that were not aware, maybe, that the contribution had not yet been submitted by their bookkeepers," Aunzo said in a mix of English and vernacular in the press conference. The SSS has been educating the employers about its "Contribution Penalty Condonation, Delinquency Management, and Restructuring Program," which has no timeline and can be continuously availed of by the employers. SSS-Cagayan de Oro assistant branch head Ira Levin Filoteo is urging employees to always check their SSS contributions and not to hesitate to file a complaint with their nearest SSS branch. Last year, the SSS Mindanao North division visited a total of 89 employers in the region, which yielded a total of P5.8 million in collection as of Dec. 31, 2022. Out of them, 37 had already complied, 26 employer accounts were referred to the Operations Legal Department for legal action, and four complaints were filed before the prosecutor’s office. The RACE campaign is a nationwide activity of the SSS that aims to intensify employer compliance through personal visits and the use of the penalty condonation program for delinquency settlement.