Employees’ Compensation Commission Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis recently reported that the Employees’ Compensation Program has paid P 1.318B worth of EC benefits to persons with work-related disability (PWRDs) and/or to their beneficiaries from the private and public sector from January to December 2016.

Banawis reported that death and pension benefits comprised the highest share in the EC benefit payments made both by the SSS and GSIS amounting to P1,014,769,837. Other benefit payments included disability benefits which reached P147.178 million, P109.530 million for sickness benefits, P35.750 million for medical services, P9.5 million for funeral benefits and P1.666 million for rehabilitation services.

The Social Security System (SSS), the administering agency of EC for the private sector released P1.095B for the payment of 249, 796 benefit claims. The bulk of payments is for death pension benefit claims which summed up to P848.756 million.

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) which administer the EC for public sector, on the other hand, granted a total of P223.227M EC benefits for 40, 404 claims. Benefit payments are made for death pension which amounted to P166.013 million, P22.630 million for medical services, P22.449 for disability benefits; P9.087 million for sickness benefits, P2.990 million for funeral benefits, and P106,056 for rehabilitation services.

ECC Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis said, “The State Insurance Fund (SIF) holds the contributions paid by government agencies and private employers, in trust. This fund finances the EC program’s benefit payments for sickness, disability, medical and rehabilitation services.”

“However, we put a bigger emphasis on the prevention of workplace accidents and diseases by educating our workers on the value of occupational safety and health which we also discuss in our advocacy seminars,” Banawis added.

End