COCONUT WEEK. Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Food, tours the exhibits during the 29th National Coconut Week and 2nd International Coconut Festival & Trade Fair at the Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. The senator was the guest speaker in the said event organized by the Philippine Coconut Authority. In her keynote address, Villar undercores the importance of supporting the coconut industry especially the micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMES), to be more competitive. She also cites the need to help our farmers who belong to the country’s poorest sector. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Lawmakers are unlikely to succeed in overriding President Aquino’s veto on the P2,000 monthly increase for Social Security System (SSS) pensioners, Senator Cynthia Villar admitted Friday.
Villar said that at least 16 senators – two-thirds of the total number of members of the upper chamber – are needed to override the president’s veto.
This proves a gargantuan task, Villar said, because senators seldom even reach a quorum of 13 as the election period nears.
She said getting two-thirds of the House of Representative, or 217 congressmen, to reverse the veto of the President is even more difficult because many of them are in the provinces.
“Dapat naman realistic tayo. Hindi natin ipinapangako iyung something na hirap tayo. Kasi kahit kami’y makakuha ng two-thirds sa Senate, paano ang House, 280 [representatives]. Ang two-thirds noon, mabigat,” she said.
The senator emphasized that allies of the President in Congress may hesitate to oppose his veto on the proposed pension increase.
The President has cited the bill’s negative effect on SSS income, saying that it will result in an annual payout of P56 billion. The SSS only rakes in an annual investment income of 30 to 40 billion, he pointed out.
Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa Habitan said House Bill No. 5842 was too expensive and detrimental to the pension fund reserve if implemented.
“The bill does not have a revenue generating component, which means when the pension reserve runs out much earlier by 13 years-2029 instead of 2042,” said Habitan, who is in charge of government financial institutions.
But Villar maintained that the proposed pension hike will not imperil the SSS fund life.
She said the agency’s collection efficiency for SSS premium is only at 38%. Villar said SSS has ample time to improve its collection efficiency and ensure that higher income will flow into the agency until their pension reserves run out in 2029.
The government may also subsidize SSS pension should the agency fail to abate the projected income shortfall, Villar said.
“Hindi naman abuso na ibigay natin ito (pension hike) and then pagbutihin natin ang operation. And in the end, after so many years, kung hindi tayo mag-improve, hindi makaya at may kakulangan pa rin, e di i-subsidize,” she said.
“Ano namang masamang i-subsidize natin ang pension ng ating mahihirap na pensioner when we can subsidize other things. Ito, mas magandang i-subsidize kasi may malinaw na listahan at talaga namang nagtrabaho sila, 10 years and 20 years to deserve this pension.”(MNS)