SSS also offers loan for its senior members
TACLOBAN CITY- The Social Security System (SSS) has clarified that despite of the declaration of the state of calamity due to dengue fever by several local government units, their office is not accepting any calamity loans.
Dr. Lilibeth Cajucom, SSS branch manager of Tacloban City, however, said that they will be ready to accommodate any calamity loans from their members if there is such a guideline.
“But so far, we have not receive any guideline,” Cajucom said during the weekly media forum ‘Express it at the Park’ held at the Leyte Park Resort, this city.
Due to the surge of dengue fever cases in the region, several local government units have declared state of calamity.
The provinces of Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Southern Leyte, as well as Tacloban City have declared state of calamity. Ormoc City, meanwhile, declared a state of emergency as their response to the increasing number of dengue fever cases.
The declaration has allowed these local government units to make use part of their quick response funds or calamity funds to procure needed medicines and even fogging machines.
The region has more than 12,000 dengue fever cases of which over 40, mostly children, have died.
Cajucom said that once they receive order allowing SSS to grant calamity loans to its members, they will process them immediately.
“We have the funds,” the SSS chief said.
Meantime, Cajucom has called on all their senior pensioners to avail loans that the SSS is offering for them.
She said that since their office started the program last year, only a handful have availed it.
“We have launched the program because we have noticed that many of our senior pensioners resort to (illegal) lending that offers higher rates and they even pawned their ATM cards,” Cajucom said.
Under the program, the retirees could avail a minimum loan equal to twice the size of the basic monthly pension as of to P32, 000 which is payable in one year with a 10 percent interest. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
