Senate panel approves Philippine-Japan social security deal

THE Senate is gearing up to ratify the Philippine-Japan Social Security Agreement, which would give Filipinos working in Japan and Japanese working in the Philippines compulsory coverage under both countries’ social security systems.

“All the resource persons are in support of the Senate concurrence in the ratification by the President of the Philippine-Japan Social Security Agreement which will basically enhance in general the relationship between the two countries from the point of view of our workers,” said Senator Franklin M. Drilon, who led the Senate committee on foreign affairs hearing yesterday in committee chair Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano’s stead.

“It would really benefit [ the workers] in terms of equalization of benefits and generate the guarantee of continued benefits payment by the Japanese social security system to our Filipino workers who are members of the Japanese social security system,” Mr. Drilon added.

No objections were put forward in Monday’s hearing. Resource persons include representatives from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System ( SSS), Phil-Health, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Department of Foreign Affairs ( DFA), Department of Justice ( DoJ) and civil society groups.

The agreement was signed in November 2015 by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario. It was ratified by Japan’s National Diet in April 2016.

According to the POEA there are at approximately 377,000 Filipinos in Japan while there are approximately 17,000 Japanese nationals in the Philippines as of 2015.

Executive Director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy, Ellene A. Sana said that the concurrence of the Senate would be timely.

“This agreement at a time when Japan is opening its doors again to migrant workers because of ongoing rehabilitation programs, preparations for hosting of the Summer Olympics in 2020, the aging population, mandatory English courses in schools... which paves the way for this sort of treatment of migrant domestic workers,” Ms. Sana said.

With the agreement cleared at the committee level, Mr. Drilon will present the measure to the plenary for concurrence.

“We shall deem the agreement submitted to the committee for final action and we will submit it to the Senate at the plenary for our concurrence,” Mr. Drilon said, concluding the hearing. —