ECC bares EC compensation details for ’22

OVER half of the recipients of the P1.22 billion worth of Employees’ Compensation (EC) benefits released by state insurers during the first half of the year were for death and pension claims, according to the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC).

In its initial 2022 accomplishment report, ECC reported the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government System Insurance System (GSIS) were able to provide EC benefits to 204,187 members from January to July.

Most or 110,615 of the beneficiaries were under death and pension claims.

The rest were due to sickness (79,474), disability (10,272), medical service including medical reimbursements (3,162), funeral benefits (332), one-time financial aid to qualified EC pensioners (297), and availability of rehabilitation services (35).

Despite such disbursement, the State Insurance Fund (SIF), which is used for the EC benefits, remains sustainable, according to ECC.

It pointed out the SIF managed by SSS is at P6.78 billion, while that from GSIS is at P33.46 billion.

Covid-19 cash aid

ON top of the said benefits from SSS and GSIS, ECC said it was also able to provide its own cash aid to workers, who contracted Covid-19 with the use of its Quick Response Funds.

As of November, ECC released P112.1 million in cash aid to 11,168 beneficiaries.

Of which, 10,000 of the said recipients were due to Covid-19 cases.

Last February, ECC said it was able to extend over P473 million worth of benefits to Covid-affected workers since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

Better service

ECC said it plans to further improve its services to its clients in the coming years, including the use of electronic accounts for disbursing cash assistance aside from using regular checks.

It is also enhancing its “Return-to-work” Program, which is expected to mainly benefit persons with work-related disabilities (PWRDS).

“With the proposed reorganization, ECC with the Occupational Safety and Health Center will continue to be more responsive to workers’ concerns by providing a relevant package of benefits, while designing more comprehensive and inclusive coverage under the EC program,” ECC said.

ECC is an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which provides benefits for public and private sector employees and their dependents in the event of workconnected sickness, injury, disability or death.