House Speaker Martin Romualdez delivers his message during the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas 2024 National Congress at the World Trade Center in Pasay City Tuesday morning. (Speaker’s office)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez says the thousands of barangay officials throughout the country could soon become members of the Social Security System (SSS) at no cost to them.

Romualdez, president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), shared the good news to the village officials during the Liga ng Mga Barangay's National Congress Tuesday, Aug, 13 at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Pasay City.

He said he has already met with the president of SSS on his advocacy of making barangay officials as members of the pension fund so they could be covered by life insurance and enjoy lifetime pension.

“Nagkaroon ako ng pag-uusap kamakailan lamang kasama ang pangulo ng SSS upang matugunan ang inyong pangangailangan sa proteksyon o seguridad habang kayo ay nasa serbisyo,” Romualdez said.

(I recently had a discussion with the president of SSS with the goal of addressing your protection and security while you are in the service.)

“Umaasa ako na sa lalong madaling panahon, lahat kayo ay magiging miyembro na ng SSS. Sa sandaling mangyari ito, agad na kayong mabibigyan ng life insurance at sa patuloy na pag-iipon natin sa pondo ng SSS, maaari rin kayong mag-qualify sa lifetime pension,” he added.

(I expect that in the soonest time possible, you will all become members of SSS. Once this happens, you will instantly get life insurance and in time, through continued funding of SSS, you will also quality for lifetime pension.)

Romualdez added that the House is considering approving a bill mandating local government units to set aside funds for the monthly SSS premium contribution of barangay officers.

“Sa ganitong paraan, hindi na ninyo iisipin ang buwanang hulog sa SSS (This way, you won't have to think about hour month SSS premiums),” the leader of the 300-plus-strong House stressed.

While government officials are normally covered by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), they can still volunteer to be members of SSS, which is for the private workforce. This means that their SSS benefits will be on top of their GSIS benefits, if they are members already.

SSS President Rolando "Rolly" Macasaet says one advantage that the barangay officials can have is that they can maintain their SSS membership even after they exit public office.

At the same event, Romualdez informed the Liga ng Mga Barangay of his proposal in the House of Representatives to give barangay officers a fixed term of office of six years.

"Sa ganitong paraan, magkakaroon kayo ng sapat na oras upang magplano at magpatupad ng mga pang-matagalang programa para sa ikauunlad ng inyong barangay,” said the Speaker.

(This way, you will have enough time to plan and implement long-term programs that will help your village achieve progress.)

“Sa loob ng anim na taon, hindi na kayo maaabala ng mga isyung elektoral at makakapagtuon kayo ng buong atensyon sa serbisyo sa inyong mga ka-barangay. Makakabuo tayo ng matatag na pamumuno sa barangay at masisigurong sustainable ang mga proyekto at programa,” he explained.

(With a six-year term, you will no longer be bothered by electoral issues and you will be able to put your entire focus on providing service to your constituents. This will allow us to build strong leadership in the barangay and ensure the sustainability of projects and programs.)

He added that the House is also working on passing the proposed Magna Carta for Barangays.