During the celebration of the 122nd Labor Day, the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) has unveiled at the Malacañang Palace another groundbreaking policy which aims to bolster the agency’s vision in providing a more comprehensive and inclusive compensation and rehabilitation package to workers who suffer from work-related illnesses or injuries which resulted to disability.
In a board resolution issued on April 25, 2024, the ECC was directed to prepare a budget for the establishment and operation of the Workers Rehabilitation Center Complex (WRCC) in the amount not to exceed one billion pesos.
With construction poised to begin in the following months, the WRCC is envisioned to feature world-class facilities which will focus on physical restoration and rehabilitation of workers who suffered from work-connected disabilities as provided under Presidential Decree 626, as amended, the law that created the ECC and the State Insurance Fund.
It is worth mentioning at this point that, it was last year when the ECC launched its Return-to-Work Program or RTWAP to bolster its efforts in bringing persons with work-related disabilities (PWRDs) back into the economic mainstream. The RTWAP focuses on a tripartite mechanism where the employers, with the assistance and guidance of case managers from the ECC, are able to actively participate and assist PWRDs on their road to recovery.
Through these developmental approaches, employers get firsthand experience on how the ECC develop and execute its mandate of providing a comprehensive work-contingency prevention, compensation and rehabilitation program.
ECC Executive Director Kaima Via B. Velasquez said, “It is indeed a great honor to be the bearer of this great milestone under the Employees’ Compensation Program.”
“With the institutionalization of our RTWAP and the realization of the WRCC, we begin a new era for the Employees’ Compensation Commission. With the help of our very supportive Secretary of Labor Hon. Bienvenido Laguesma, I strongly believe that the ECC is at the pinnacle of setting the bar higher for the social protection floor of the whole country. Our shared goal of upholding the dignity of every PWRDs, both in the private and government sectors will always be the core of the Employees’ Compensation Program,” Director Velasquez added.
Atty. M. Basal – REU8