By Mark Garcia
BACOLOD CITY-- About 2,780 employers in three cities in Negros Occidental have not been remitting the Social Security System contributions of their employees.
SSS Chief Legal Counsel Voltaire Agas warned the delinquent employers to pay their employees premiums or face big fines and a 6 to 12-year prison term.
SSS Bacolod branch head Lina Hilado said the delinquent employers represent 40 percent of the 6,955 employers in the cities of Bacolod, Talisay, and Silay.
Hilado said that based on his estimates, the delinquent employers owe SSS P50 million in unremitted contributions.
Officials from the Bacolod branch and the SSS central office on Thursday went to 11 firms in Bacolod and Silay to post-show cause orders at their establishments.
The 11 establishments have not turned over SSS contributions amounting to over P2,268,131.48 and failed to comply with SSS business registration, resulting in a total delinquency of P71,030.70.
The employers must visit the nearest SSS branch within 15 days from the posting of the order to settle their liabilities, Agas said in an interview.
“If they will not act on the complaints, our legal and enforcement group will definitely file a case against them,” Agas said.