REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No. 8462

Introduced by MAGDALO Party. Representative
i. GARY C. ALEJANO.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Retirement should be considered a significant milestone in a person’s life. It is to be
considered the culmination of the years of hard work a person has rendered in service of this
Country and its people, A successful retirement should entail that retirees enjoy fully the benefits
Which he/she rightfully deserves, together with their loved ones. With that said, the inability of the
government to expeditiously disburse retirement benefits to numerous retirees diminishes retirement
to a period of unrest and financial insecurity.

The GSIS and the SSS up to this day lives up to the ignominy of bureaucratic red tape
Retiring members still have to endure the convoluted process of acquiring their retirement benefits--
and this process could take years in some reported cases—which ultimately robs retiree’s a
significant portion of their time to actually enjoy his retirement. What's worse is that there are
instances wherein the retiree has faithfully followed the entire process, only for his retirement
benefit to be withheld for a clerical error on the SSS/GSIS" part. These are not isolated incidents
and are very much representative of the two institution’s inefficiency and lack of concem for the
interests of their retiring members.

This disappointing trend requires that Congress should finally intervene and hasten the
Payment of retirement benefits to all GSIS/SSS retiree members. If the aforementioned institutions
cannot muster the will to expedite their Kafkaesque internal processes, then we must provide a
necessary jolt to their senses and urge them into immediate action.

We must remember that many of our retirees are in their advanced ages or may very well be
approaching such point in their lives and so, the slow roll-out of benefits to these people would
mean that we are practically depriving them of the chance to spend their remaining years in joy and
Peace. This representation speaks of this, not as an attempt to be macabre, but to painfully illustrate
the injustice of the present situation

p- Gary f°. Alejano

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.


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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No._ 8462

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. GARY C. ALEJANO

AN ACT.
MANDATING THE PAYMENT OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO SSS OR GSIS.
MEMBERS WITHIN A MAXIMUM PERIOD OF THIRTY (30) DAYS FROM THE
RETIREMENT DATE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

‘Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled,

SECTION 1. Short Title.—This Act shall be known as the “Express Retirement Benefits
Payment Act.”

SEC. 2. Payment of Retirement Benefits—Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the
Payment of retirement benefits and pensions to all members of the Social Security System (SSS)
and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) shall be made within a maximum period of
thirty (30) days from the retirement date,

SEC. 3. Requirements.—The requirements for retirement in the SSS and GSIS shall be in
simple forms and the retiring member shall be provided with the prompt assistance from said
offices in the accomplishment of whatever requirements shall be needed as early as six (6) months
Prior to his retirement date.

SEC. 4. Penalties.—The penalty of one (1) year imprisonment and a fine of Ten Thousand
Pesos (P10,000.00) shall be imposed upon any Person who shall violate any of the provisions of this
Act.

SEC. 4. Implementing Rules and Regulations. —The respective boards of the SSS and the
GSIS shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the effective
implementation of this Act.


CeIAHeon oe

SEC. 5. Repealing Clause —All laws, executive orders, executive issuances, or letters of
instructions, or any part thereof, inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act, are
hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SEC. 6. Separability Clause.—If for any reason, any section or provision of this Act shall
be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts thereof not affected shall remain valid.

SEC. 7. Effectivity—This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation

Approved,