The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) conducted a province-wide advocacy seminar on 27 September 2018 at the Big 8 Hotel, Tagum City, Davao del Norte famously known as the City of Palms.
Two hundred fifty employees and employers from the private and government sector including uniformed personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology attended the seminar.
According to ECC Deputy Executive Director Atty. Jonathan Villasotto the advocacy seminar in Tagum City was pursuant to ECC’s thrust in ensuring that all employees and employers are cognizant of the programs streamlined by the ECC.
“The monthly advocacy seminar is one of the ECC’s ways in addressing the low level of awareness of our workers about the Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP) particularly the benefits and services they may avail in the event that a worker suffers from a work-related sickness, injury, or death,” Villasoto added.
The participants were informed not only on the benefits under the ECP but also on the importance of maintaining a strict compliance with the safety requirements for companies to prevent any contingency in the workplace.
During the open forum, Atty. Villasotto addressed questions pertaining to the seemingly gradual dissemination of the information about the ECP. He emphasized that one of the glaring factors why some employees remained unaware of the ECP is because employees are not the ones paying for their EC contribution due to the fact that only employers are mandated to pay for said premiums for every worker, thus, ECC doesn’t appear on employees’ pay slips.
According to one of the uniformed personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, many of their colleagues have died in line of military operations but were unable to benefit from the ECP due to their lack of information but they are very grateful now to the ECC for organizing the advocacy seminar in Tagum City.
Want to know more about the Employees’ Compensation Program? Email ECC at [email protected] or call 899-4251 local 227 for free on-site seminars.
End./Albert Bantan