ECC-REU 12 Information Officer Kaye Daga (left), together with DOLE 12 Assistant Director Arlene Bisnon (right), grants the EC cash assistance worth ₱10, 000.00 to Joseph Pason (center) in July 2021 at ECC-REU 12 in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.

 

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC), through its extension unit in SOCSKSARGEN, granted a cash assistance to Joseph Pason who became COVID positive due to his work.

Pason, a 35-year old public high school teacher in General Santos City, was confined to a hospital in General Santos City in October 2020. He experienced covid19 symptoms like difficulty in breathing, loss of smell and taste, diarrhea, chills and fever. Within two days of his hospital confinement, he was found to be covid19 positive.

As a class adviser, it is part of his duty to report to school three times a week to submit reports and assist in the preparation, distribution, and retrieval of learning modules of students. He even conducts house visitation in case the students and parents are unreachable through any means of communication.

Upon reading a post on Facebook about the benefits of ECC, Pason filed his EC sickness claim at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) General Santos Branch. He received an EC sickness benefit amounting to ₱4,400.00. After that, he was also granted a cash assistance of ₱10,000.00 at the ECC.

Through the Board Resolution 21-04-14, the ECC included covid19 to its list of occupational and work-related diseases and thus, will grant EC benefits to workers who have a direct exposure to the virus e.g. health care workers, contact tracing team, etc.; the worker’s tasks require a close proximity interaction with the public; the virus is transmitted in the workplace, or while commuting to and from work.

Workers in the private and public sector who became positive to covid19 because of their work or working environment can file for additional EC cash assistance amounting to ₱10,000.00 (for sickness claim) and ₱15,000.00 (for death claim) once their EC sickness or death claim was approved by the Social Security System (SSS) or the GSIS.

The Employees’ Compensation Commission is a government corporation attached to the Department of Labor and Employment for policy formulation and program coordination. The ECC is mandated to provide meaningful and appropriate compensation benefits to workers and their dependents in the event of work-related sickness, injury, disability or death.

 

K. Daga – REU12