BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 20-07-13
Granting of EC Funeral Benefit to the Qualified Beneficiaries of Covered Members Who Died of Work-Related Causes Despite the Absence of Proof of Expenses for Funeral Services Further Amending for This Purpose Rule XIV, Section 1 of the Amended Rules on Employees Compensation
WHEREAS, Article 172 (166) of P.D. No. 626, as amended, provides the policy of the State to promote and develop a tax-exempt employees’ compensation program whereby employees and their dependents, in the event of work-connected disability or death, may promptly secure adequate income benefit, and medical or related benefits;
WHEREAS, Article 200 (194), par. (d) of P.D. No. 626, as amended, reads:
(d) “Funeral benefit. – A funeral benefit of three thousand pesos shall be paid upon the death of a covered employee or permanently totally disabled pensioner.” (as amended by Sec. 3, E.O. 179, dated June 1, 1987)
WHEREAS, Executive Order (E.O.) No. 135, Series of 2013, authorizes the increase of amount of EC funeral benefit for the public sector from Three thousand pesos (P 3,000.00) to Ten thousand pesos (P10, 000.00);
WHEREAS, E.O. No. No. 167, Series of 2014, further authorizes the increase of amount of EC funeral benefit for both public and private sectors from Ten thousand pesos (P 10,000.000) to Twenty thousand pesos (P20, 000.00);
WHEREAS, on July 17, 2017, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte issued E.O. No. 33, Series of 2017, authorizing the increase of amount of EC funeral benefit for both public and private sectors from Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) to Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00);
WHEREAS, Rule XIV, Section 1 of the Amended Rules on Employees’ Compensation provides:
“Section 1. Entitlement to funeral benefit. A funeral benefit of twenty thousand pesos (now P30,000.00) shall be paid upon the death of a covered employee or permanently totally disabled pensioner to one of the following:
(a) “the surviving spouse; or
(b) “the legitimate child who spent for the funeral services; or
(c) “any other person who can show incontrovertible proof or proof of his having borne the funeral expenses.”
WHEREAS, Presidential Proclamation No. 922, s. 2020, declares a State of Public Health Emergency throughout the Philippines due to CoronaVirus19 (COVID-19) threat and enjoins all government agencies to render full assistance;
WHEREAS, in this time of pandemic, the bodies of victims of COVID-19 infections are immediately brought to crematoriums without further burial ceremony and sometimes the funeral expenses are being shouldered by different local government units or other government instrumentalities. Consequently, several qualified beneficiaries of covered members who died of COVID19 infections due to work or the work environment would find it difficult to comply with the submission of proof of expenses for funeral services in the filing of claims for EC funeral benefits;
WHEREAS, this Commission finds the urgent need to promulgate a revised policy on the granting of EC funeral benefit to extend the utmost assistance to the qualified beneficiaries of COVID-19 victims who perished in the performance of their duties and, eventually, to expedite the resolution of meritorious COVID-19 cases at the level of the Systems;
WHEREAS, this Commission deems it more prudent to extend this liberal accommodation on the granting of EC funeral benefit to all qualified beneficiaries of covered members who died because of work-related contingencies and have no proof of expenses for funeral services because of the peculiar nature of funeral arrangements, in the interest of the principle of equal protection of the law as guaranteed under the 1987 Constitution;
WHEREAS, Article 183 (177) paragraph (c) of P.D. No. 626, as amended, empowers this Commission to approve rules and regulations governing the processing of EC claims;
NOW, THEREFORE, ON MOTION DULY MADE AND SECONDED
RESOLVE AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED to amend Rule XIV, Section 1 of the Amended Rules on Employees’ Compensation which provides:
“Section 1. Entitlement to funeral benefit. A funeral benefit of twenty thousand pesos (now P30, 000.00) be paid upon the death of a covered employee or permanently totally disabled pensioner to one of the following:
(a) “the surviving spouse; or
(b) “the legitimate child who spent for the funeral services; or
(c) “any other person who can show incontrovertible proof or proof of his having borne the funeral expenses.”
The said paragraph shall now read as follows:
“Section 1.1. Coverage. The prevailing amount of funeral benefit shall be granted to the qualified beneficiaries of covered members who died of work-related causes in both public and private sectors despite the absence of proof of expenses for funeral services.
“Section. 1.2. Application of the Equal Protection of the Law Principle. Funeral benefit shall be granted to all work- related incidents of deaths to remove any doubt of inequality and in adherence to the equal protection of the law principle.
“Section 1.3. Order of Payment. Funeral benefit shall be granted by the Systems to the qualified beneficiaries in the following order:
(a) “Legitimate surviving spouse;
(b) “In the absence of the legitimate surviving spouse – to the legitimate dependent children
(c) “In the absence of qualified primary beneficiaries – to the illegitimate dependent children beneficiaries
(d) In the absence of dependent illegitimate children – to the surviving dependent parent of the covered member. If both dependent parents are still alive, the funeral benefits shall be divided
(e) In the event that the deceased covered members have no qualified beneficiaries at the time of their work-connected deaths, the funeral benefit shall be retained in the State Insurance
“Section 1.4. Determination of Qualified Dependents. The Systems shall determine the qualified dependents at the time of death of the covered member. For this purpose, the Systems may require the submission of proof of relationship such as, but not limited to, Marriage and/or Birth Certificates.
“Section 1.5. Retroactive Application. The revised guidelines shall be applied on all claims for EC death with funeral benefits effective March 17, 2020 upon the commencement of implementation of community quarantine.
RESOLVED FURTHER, that all Rules or Regulations of the Systems inconsistent with this Resolution are hereby revised or modified accordingly;
RESOLVED FINALLY, that this Resolution shall take effect immediately after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation and copies of this Resolution be duly furnished the SSS and the GSIS for their compliance and guidance.
DONE, this 17 day of July 2020, in Makati City, Philippines.
SILVESTRE H. BELLO III
Chairperson
Department of Labor and Employment
(SGD) RIZALDY T. CAPULONG
Member-Designate
Social Security System
NORA M. MALUBAY
Member-Designate
Government Service Insurance System
(SGD) CARLITO P. ROBLE
Member
Employees’ Sector
(SGD) DENNIS S. MAS
Member-Designate
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(SGD) STELLA ZIPAGAN-BANAWIS
Member
Employees’ Compensation Commission – Secretariat
Date Published: October 29, 2020, The BusinessWorld