The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) is one of the recipients of the ASSA Award during the 36th ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA) Board Meeting and Seminar hosted by the Tabung Amanah Pekerja (TAP) or Employee Trust Fund (ETF) of Brunei Darussalam held at The Rizqun International Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on September 17-18 2019.
ECC was recognized with this year’s award under the Continuous Improvement Recognition Category, for its project, the 3Es – Reform Agenda of the ECC: Equalize, Enhance and Expand.
The 3Es—Reform Agenda of the ECC: Equalize, Enhance and Expand is a framework adopted by the ECC geared towards providing a more holistic and responsive employment compensation benefits to all Filipino workers and/or their dependents in the event of work-connected sickness, injury, disability and/or death. It aims to equalize the benefits between the covered workers-employees in the public and private sectors, enhance and upgrade EC benefits and expand the coverage and access to social protection for workers in the informal economy.
ECC Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis accepted the award from TAP Chairman, Yang Berhormat, Major General (Ret) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports of Brunei Darussalam, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh, ASSA Chairman, Vice Minister, Director General of Vietnam Social Security.
ASSA’s recognition ceremony was attended by representatives of the 20 member institutions from ASEAN countries namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. These countries share viewpoints and desire towards a united, stable and strong social security in the region.
ASSA seeks to promote the development of social security among its member countries in line with their aspirations, laws and regulations and on the basis of consensus that would grow for the best interest of the people and growth in the region.
According to Executive Director Banawis, it is thru ECC’s 3Es project that the agency is able to reach more Filipino workers who met work-related contingencies. “For the past years, we have extended package of benefits to millions of fellow Filipinos. And to see them start new lives thru our programs gives us more reasons to perform our mandate and go beyond what is expected of us,” said Banawis.
With the recent recognition, Banawis is more determined to improve the ECC’s programs for the betterment of persons with work-related disabilities.
Reporting by Carlo Katigbak