THE SOCIAL Security System (SSS) announced that they now offer calamity loans to members recently affected by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Taiwan on April 3.
In a statement, Rolando Ledesma Macasaet, SSS chief executive officer, said offering the said loan to members was a “historic first for SSS since the office never extended financial assistance to calamity-hit members outside the Philippines until now.”
“It only proved that we are always ready to assist our members wherever they are. However, members must first visit the SSS Taiwan Foreign Office in Neihu District, Taipei City, to secure a Calamity Loan Reference Number (CLRN) needed in their loan applications. The CLRN is a unique 12-alphanumeric identifier provided to SSS members and among the requirements for the calamity loan,” Macasaet said.
Macasaet added that members living, residing, or working in Taiwan when the earthquake struck the island may now avail of a calamity loan from May 21 until August 20.
Under the Calamity Loan Assistance Program, Pedro Baoy, SSS Lending, and Asset Management Group senior vice president said qualified members can borrow a loan equivalent to one monthly salary credit or up to P20,000.
To qualify, Baoy said affected members must meet the following requirements: must have a My.SSS account at www.sss.gov.ph; at least 36 monthly contributions, six of which must be posted within the last 12 months before the month of filing of application; must be an OFW SSS member; must be living, residing, or working in Taiwan during the time of the earthquake; must be 65 years old and below at the time of loan application; have not been granted any final benefit such as permanent total disability or retirement; no past due SSS Short-Term Member Loans; and no outstanding restructured loan or calamity loan.
“Once approved, the loan proceeds will be credited to the member’s registered Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID)-ATM Card or their active accounts with a Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and Operations Network (PESONet) participating bank,” Baoy explained.
He said members could pay the calamity loan in two years or 24 equal monthly installments with an annual interest rate of 10%, and the one percent service fee has already been waived.
Baoy said the first loan amortization will start in the second month following the loan approval date.
Based on the DMW OIC Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac’s statement, nine Filipinos were reported as injured and around 5000 Filipinos are in the area where the earthquake struck.
