For seven years, Joenel Siva’s routine as a security guard starts from travelling using his motorcycle from the rugged road of a mountainous barangay of Surallah, South Cotabato to his post in Koronadal City.

This simple routine stopped when he met an accident on June 15, 2015. On his way home, he was hit by a motorcycle in Banga, South Cotabato. His employer, Supreme Security Agency (SSA), assisted him in his hospitalization and sought the assistance of the Employees Compensation Commission- Regional Extension Unit XII (ECC-REU12) in Koronadal City in filing for Siva’s EC benefits claim.

Efren Cabucay, the general manager of SSA, participated in a seminar organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and learned about the Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP).

ECC-REU 12 staff immediately conducted a Quick Response Program and visited Siva in his home in Surallah, South Cotabato. The team introduced ECP to Siva and informed him of his benefits under the said program. He was provided with the forms needed in filing EC claim with the Social Security System.

Siva received a total of P36,000 worth of EC benefits. He is currently undergoing free physical therapy at The Doctors’ Clinic and Hospital, Inc. in Koronadal City.

He already returned to work as a security guard after his physician ensured his employer that he is fit to work again.

“I’m happy how ECC assisted me, I had almost lost hope in getting back to work because of my injury and disability,” Siva explained, “but with ECC’s help I am now back to my normal routine once again.”

The Employees’ Compensation Program is a social insurance program designed to provide workers and/or their beneficiaries with income, medical and other benefits in the event of work-related sickness, injury, or death.

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Christopher Gamboa, Information Officer II, ECC-REU 12