SENATOR Rafael “Raffy” Tulfo has expressed his disappointment regarding the inadequate compliance of three government agencies when it comes to providing coverage for domestic workers.
According to a 2019 joint survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), there are approximately 1.4 million registered domestic workers under the Social Security System (SSS), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and the Home Development Mutual Fund, commonly known as Pag-IBIG.
However, the statistics reveal that only a meager percentage of these workers are enrolled in these programs by their employers. Specifically, just 6 percent, or 84,190 kasambahay, are registered with SSS, 5 percent, or 74,858 with PhilHealth, and 3.4 percent, or 51,579 with Pag-IBIG.
Senator Tulfo has expressed his concern, labeling this level of compliance as exceedingly low. He currently serves as the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and is adamant that these government agencies need to take more effective measures to ensure that employers across the country are registering and regularly contributing to the SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG for their domestic workers.
Moreover, he is troubled by the lack of implementation of the registration system for kasambahay at the barangay level. He is well aware that some employers either find themselves too preoccupied to enroll their household help for these coverages or deliberately avoid doing so in order to evade financial responsibilities.
It’s worth noting that under the “Domestic Workers Act” or “Batas Kasambahay,” every employer is mandated to register their house help with the barangay in which their residence is situated. The Punong Barangay, or the barangay chairman, is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the kasambahay registry within their jurisdiction. (ai/mnm)